Tag / DraftKings

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No Bets For You

After just two years, DraftKings announced that they will be shuttering their in-person sportsbook hanging off the side of Wrigley Field on May 31.  In a statement, the company says, “The cost of operating in Illinois, including its high tax structure, makes it more difficult to justify continued investment in a standalone retail sportsbook.”  The sports bar part of the operation will continue, as will the DraftKings sponsorship.

As part of this change, the area should become a little more accessible.  With the removal of the sportsbook, the requirement to be 21 to enter should be removed.  Additionally, fans will be able to enter and exit into the ballpark itself eventually, similar to Gallagher Way.  That change will likely limit the building on game days to those with a ticket.

Short term, there should be no financial impact for the Cubs.  The original deal was $100 million for ten years and, while the two sides shared some revenue from food and beverage sales, the Cubs were not involved in the gambling end of the partnership.  Long term, I’m sure that $100 million figure included some expectation of revenues to be generated from the sportsbook, and it seems unlikely that a renewal will touch that amount.

Nearly three years since the building first opened as a sports bar, I’ve only been inside once, and that was just for a quick walkaround.  The next dollar I spend there will be my first, and I don’t envision that changing anytime soon.

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Get Your Bets In (Well, Not Quite Yet)

Back in 2001, the Cubs received approval to build a two-story, 22,350-square-foot structure at the corner of Sheffield and Addison, which would be home to a DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field.  This week, that sportsbook took a big step closer to becoming a reality, opening to the public as a sports bar while waiting for approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.  To align with Major League Baseball rules, the building is open to anyone 21 and over, with no ticket to that day’s game necessary.  At the present time, there is no way to cross from the sportsbook into Wrigley Field itself.

I’m sure at some point I will make a visit, even if it is just to sample the menu, provided by Levy.  The place appeared to be packed following last night’s Cubs game as I walked past on my way to the El, which bodes well for both DraftKings and the Cubs.

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Opening A New Book

The Cubs received approval this week from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to build a two-story sportsbook at the corner of Sheffield and Addison. The 22,350-square-foot structure, which would be home to a DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field as part of a sponsorship deal the team struck with  DraftKings last year and looks to make gambling an integral part of the game day experience at the Friendly Confines. Though the new building would be connected to the ballpark, the addition would be open to anyone, as Major League Baseball rules prohibit a sportsbook operating where a game ticket is required for entry.

Yesterday’s approval is only the first step in what is sure to be a long process to get this extension put in place.  Approval is still needed from the City Council, both for the development itself but also on allowing sports betting inside the city’s stadiums. The National Park Service, which designated the restored ballpark as a National Historic Landmark, would also need to approve the plans for the new building.

While the timing is likely coincidental, it is somewhat amusing that the hearing on this came up a week after the Cubs traded off all of their star players because they couldn’t “afford” to offer them market-value extensions.  Also, it is amusing in a sad way that you must have a ticket to sit in the lovely park the Cubs built on the other side of the stadium in Gallagher Way, but you will be able to enter this new facility without one.  Like it or not, baseball, and the Cubs, have hitched their wagon to legal gambling and they will try to wring every dollar they can out of the arrangement.