November 27, 2021
Barstool Sports plans to bring its fraternity vibes to Center City with a new sports bar focused on online betting.
"Ground has been broken" on the project according to an Instagram story posted to Barstool's Instagram account on Thursday, the Inquirer reported.
The digital media company caters to college students and other young sports fans. It's partly owned by Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming, which bought a 36% stake in Barstool in 2020 for $136 million.
The new bar will not be a betting parlor, something that would require a special license. Rather, the venue will provide food, drinks and an atmosphere conducive to online sports betting.
A key goal for the bar is promoting Barstool's popular online sports betting app, Barstool Sportsbook, which is currently available in 11 states.
One of the company's hosts, Adam Smith, said in an Instagram story on Thursday that the bar will be near Ladder 15, a bar and restaurant at 1528 Sansom Street according to the Inquirer.
The new bar will be located at 1213 Sansom Street, betting new site Play Pennsylvania reported. That space was formerly home to the Brick Wall Tavern. There's currently a liquor license application out for that address under the name SBH PHL LLC.
Although a Penn National executive announced in August that Barstool would be opening two new bars in Philadelphia and Chicago, until now the locations for both have been kept under wraps.
An opening date for the new venues has not been announced.
Sports betting officially became legal in Pennsylvania in November 2018. It's one of 34 states that has launched a legal sports betting marketplace.
That followed a Supreme Court case New Jersey won in May 2018 which set a precedent for states across the nation to legalize sports betting.
Barstool -- a company known for its unfiltered, sometimes crass content -- and its founder Dave Portnoy are not uncontroversial.
He and the company have been embroiled in a number of public spats over the years, including one with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Most recently, Portnoy has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women. He has vehemently denied the allegations.
Portnoy does daily pizza reviews at small businesses across the nation. He has done dozens of reviews across the Philly area and South Jersey. He's given high scores to
