Arizona Cardinals give first look at new sportsbook location in West Valley
Source, Phoenix Business Journal
Sportsbook operator BetMGM and the Arizona Cardinals are bringing a 16,800-square foot sportsbook facility to the State Farm Stadium campus this year.
The two-story sports and entertainment facility will sit on the north side of The Great Lawn, an 8-acre park, across from State Farm Stadium at 95th Avenue. The sportsbook, which broke ground in November, will operate on event and non-event days and be open as the 2022 football season starts.
Plans for the new sportsbook retail location come after BetMGM became the exclusive sportsbook sponsor of the Cardinals. The deal also includes three retail locations at Gila River tribal casinos. The Cardinals, which open the NFL playoffs on the road in Los Angeles on Jan 17, are expected to be the first National Football League team to open a sportsbook at its home stadium.
“The Arizona Cardinals and BetMGM are both committed to enhancing the gameday experience for fans in new and creative ways,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt, in a statement. “The BetMGM Sportsbook at State Farm Stadium will be one of the most unique and innovative additions to a venue that the sports and entertainment industry has ever seen.”
The sportsbook
The location will combine sportsbook viewing options with amenities of a "world-class" sports bar, according to BetMGM. The facility will feature entrances from both sides of the lawn, a massive video wall to watch games, enhanced game day parking and indoor and outdoor dining options.
Sports fans will also be able to place wagers at trading windows or utilize user-friendly betting kiosks throughout the building. In total, the new sportsbook will include more than 25 betting kiosks and 38 TVs and have a capacity of 500.
BetMGM and the Arizona Cardinals plan to open the first sportsbook retail location at an NFL team's stadium this fall in Glendale.
The first level will include a double-height entry hall, food and beverage services, a gaming floor and betting support spaces for sports betting, restrooms, kitchen spaces and a covered patio.
The second level will include two private meeting rooms, a smaller event space with food and beverage service, an outdoor patio, kitchen and support spaces, according to site plan documents.
Michael Bidwill, owner of the Cardinals, said when the sportsbook opens next season, "it will provide an opportunity to engage and entertain our fans in a way that is unprecedented.”
The new retail location will complement the BetMGM mobile application that launched statewide in September 2021, according to the company.
In the first 53 days of legalized sports betting in Arizona, more than $777.3 million was wagered, almost all of which was done through mobile apps. Event wagering, which became legal across Arizona on Sept. 9, accounted for nearly $15 million in state revenue, brought in through taxes and fees, according to a report published Dec. 31 by the Arizona Department of Gaming.
Separately, earlier this month the Arizona Coyotes announced its sports betting partnership with SaharaBets, a company that is owned by Alex Meruelo, the majority owner of the National Hockey League team. Power Wagering LLC, which does business as SaharaBets, is owned by Meruelo Gaming LLC, a part of the Meruelo Group, which is owned by Meruelo.
Power Wagering was incorporated in August 2021 and is headquartered at the Coyotes offices at Gila River Arena in Glendale, according to filings with the Arizona Corporation Commission.
While named after the Sahara Las Vegas, a hotel and casino resort owned by Meruelo in Las Vegas, SaharaBets is a new operation that launched its first mobile sportsbook app to the public on Jan. 12. It is only available to bettors in Arizona.