DraftKings Sportsbook hopes to bring draft beers and live betting to stadium-adjacent lounges through its latest partnership.
DraftKings will create upscale sports bars in collaboration with Cordish Cos. Sports & Social sports bar concept.
Cordish Cos. is the parent company behind the Live! casino brand, but that is not all. The company is a real estate and development powerhouse that welcomes more than 55 million visitors annually to its casinos, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and sports-anchored destinations around the country.
The DraftKings Sportsbook partnership starts with a new location in Nashville, and the Sports & Social near Comerica Park and Ford Field in Detroit.
Deal positions DraftKings Sportsbook for gameday betting
A complete list of Sports & Social locations is not listed on Cordish’s corporate website. The press release detailed some potential future spots that could involve DraftKings Sportsbook:
- Atlanta near Truist Park, home of the MLB‘s Braves.
- Arlington, Texas, near AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park, home of the NFL‘s Cowboys and MLB’s Rangers.
- St Louis near Busch Stadium, home of MLB’s Cardinals.
Other locations for the partnership will arrive in the coming months, which could include other new builds.
DraftKings no stranger to stadium deals
Along with top daily fantasy sports competitor FanDuel, DraftKings has played the long game with sports teams for years through DFS partnerships.
The first DraftKings Sportsbook planned for an in-stadium sportsbook is with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It is also adding a sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
Another location could come at or near the Boston Red Sox‘s Fenway Park following their recent DFS partnership, depending on how the laws for sports betting in Massachusetts shake out.
Are some locations off-limits?
This announcement sounds like DraftKings’ retail partner for the soon-to-open Maryland sports betting market is locked up. That is not the case though.
Back in 2019, Cordish announced it would partner with FanDuel Sportsbook in Maryland when it announced FanDuel would run its retail sportsbook in Philadelphia. Its Live! Casino is in the heart of Philadelphia’s stadium district, just a short walk from the homes of Philadelphia’s four major professional teams.
Reed Cordish, principal at Cordish Cos., confirmed to LSR that Sports & Social is exclusive to FanDuel in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Not the only sportsbook looking to improve retail
The DraftKings announcement sounds a lot like what Penn National has had in store for its Barstool Sportsbook brand.
Penn long planned to leverage Barstool Sports personalities with appearances at physical sportsbooks and other locations.
Other ideas like a virtual sportsbook by day and a nightclub at night are also possibilities, CEO Jay Snowden said last year.
