Sports bar? How about three?
Barstool Sports, the digital media company founded by the controversial Dave Portnoy and backed by Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming, opened its sports bar in Philadelphia on March Madness Friday, adding to Washington Square West’s bustling nightlife area.
It is accessed through a modest entrance at 1213 Rue Sansom, across a narrow street from the famous Fergie’s Pub and in a block full of bars and restaurants including Finn McCool’s, El Vez, Sampan, Time, Bar and Barbuzzo.
Barstool Sansom Street, named after the first one that opened in January in Chicago, has three bars topped with dozens of TV screens spread across the sprawling double establishment. The operators, New York-based Stanton & Bowery Hospitality, retained the brick walls from the previous owner of Brickwall Tavern.
Portnoy, who founded Barstool 18 years ago, is a powerhouse known as “El Presidente” to his aides. He is known for his “One-Bite Pizza” YouTube reviews, as well as his Barstool Fund, which has given more than $40 million to hundreds of small businesses during the pandemic.
Last year, Portnoy was accused of sexual harassment in a Business Insider article in which two women accused him of sexually violent behavior, and former and current employees claimed that he cultivated racism, sexism and misogyny in the workplace. Portnoy denied the allegations.
Barstool may look like other hyper-sized sports bars – with two dozen beer taps and mid-afternoon Friday pallet deliveries of Tito’s Handmade Vodka – but Barstool uses it to leverage its brand as a gaming app. It is an immersive experience at the fusion of media, sports and gambling.
These next generation sports bars are not bookmakers and therefore do not require gambling licenses as would be the case for a betting shop with casino kiosks. The bars provide an atmosphere including food, drinks, televisions and advertisements aimed at younger customers. Barstool will be promoting its popular mobile sports betting app, available in 11 states; the company said it has over 66 million monthly active users in 2020.
The Bankroll Club sports bar, currently under construction on the site of Rittenhouse’s Boyd Theater with a Stephen Starr restaurant, is due to open in the fall.
Penn National Gaming, which paid about $163 million for a 36% stake in Barstool in early 2020, positions itself as the largest regional gaming operator in North America.
Barstool Sansom Street saw a steady stream of visitors that grew to over 100 by noon, an hour after opening. Philadelphia attorney Jordan Freeman, who dropped by after the court hearing, said he liked the bar’s location, noting that an interior wall was partially removed to make the floor plan more open.
It is open on weekdays from 17:00 to 2:00 and from 11:00 to 2:00 on weekends.
The bar’s Instagram account posted the story of user @cfd_chuck, who at 7:26 was bragging that he was first in line. Later contacted for his reaction, Chuck Lynam, a dental student at Temple University, said he lived nearby and just stopped by to film a short video before heading to class.