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When it comes to sports media, the first brands that pop into the minds of most sports fans likely include ESPN and Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, and more recently The Athletic. While these are all major hitters in the world of sports, these are all more traditional outlets, focusing on either television or print for their outreach methods. And yet, one of the most influential sports brands is not a television channel or a magazine. In fact, one of the largest sports brands in the United States is best known for trolling opposing fan bases, and pizza reviews, and is now opening its very own sports bar right in the heart of metro Phoenix.
Barstool Sports is an incredibly popular sports website that has mastered the art of social media marketing. Most major college and professional sports teams in the United States now have their own Barstool Sports Twitter feed, and the parent website has several incredibly popular podcasts and video services. In fact, Barstool Sports was the marketing team behind what was supposed to be last year’s Arizona Bowl (hosted in Tucson), and the game was going to be broadcast right on the Barstool Sports website until the bowl was canceled last minute by teams bowing out of the game due to COVID.
The brand is also famous for its pizza reviews, which owner David Portnoy conducts. He is known for being especially brutal in his reviews, which can be aggravating for pizza restaurant owners, and yet when a location is given a high score, it almost certainly ensures the restaurant offers quality pizza. And now, the sports brand itself is opening a restaurant in Old Town, Scottsdale.
This will be the third Barstool Sports restaurant to open in the country. The brand opened its first in Chicago in January of this year, and then two months later a second location sprung up in Philadelphia. Thanks to both the Phoenix professional teams as well as Arizona State University, the Old Town, Scottsdale location ensures it has a strong fan base right out of the gate. Plus, as the brand will continue sponsoring the Arizona Bowl, it will have an immediate footprint within the state thanks to the new restaurant.
There is no exact opening date yet planned for the Barstool Sports restaurant, which will be known as Barstool Scottsdale, but it is moving into the former Two Brothers Brewing & Taphouse, which is an 8,700 square foot space. This is welcome news to Old Town, Scottsdale, as the large area has sat vacant since 2019.
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