On Monday at TPC Scottsdale, host venue of WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour and DraftKings announced the first sportsbook to be located onsite at a tournament venue.
Since fans at the Phoenix Open are able to bet on their phone, at any time during the tournament, the physical sportsbook appears positioned to be more of a branding and marketing effort by DraftKings.
“When you think about the experience of going in a venue and everybody’s cheering and watching on screens and you’re betting while watching, it’s an amazing experience,” DraftKings chief business officer Ezra Kucharz said.
“With a company like ours, you can choose to have an experience where you sit on your couch on your phone or you can come to a venue where there’s a lot more people and you can feed off the energy. … That’s why we do these things.”
The sportsbook will be 12,000 square feet and located to the east of the Stadium at TPC Scottsdale, the host course. Expected to be a year-round venue, the betting site will hold about 400 people and serve food and drinks. During tournament week it will be used as a VIP hospitality experience.
“It’s a big deal,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who was in attendance.
“We know this will elevate The People’s Open to a new level,” added Monahan, who, as a PGA Tour executive, is not allowed to enter the sportsbook or install the DraftKings app on his phone.
Construction on the sportsbook started in May and is expected to open in October 2023. Its plans show 40 betting kiosks and more than 3,400 square feet of video walls and screens. There will also be an outdoor patio with video screens, cabanas and fire pits.