SugarHouse Casino and its online sportsbook announced a multi-year partnership with the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and their home arena, the Wells Fargo Center.
Two branded sports lounges open Oct. 9 for the start of the team’s new season. The new “high-tech” lounges play off the look of the recently opened retail sportsbook at the casino.
Nearly 100 screens will fill the lounges. They’ll televise all sports, not just hockey.
Fans at the lounge will be encouraged to place bets on mobile devices via SugarHouse Sportsbook online, which operates in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But users at the arena will only be able to bet at the PA version of the app and betting site.
Flyers see a synergy with SugarHouse Sports
Reps from the team, the arena, the casino, and Rush Street Interactive, which runs the retail sportsbook at the casino as well as the digital book, announced the partnership Wednesday.
President of Business Operations for the Flyers and Wells Fargo Center Valerie Camillo explained the alliance:
With Pennsylvania on the forefront of legalized sports gaming, we and our SugarHouse partners are excited to elevate the game day experience at the Wells Fargo Center in a unique way. These new lounges will bring the energy and excitement of PlaySugarhouse.com, a market-leading sportsbook, into the arena and introduce another step in our transformation to become one of the most technologically-advanced arenas in the world.
A marketing partnership will include advertising inside the arena and concourse, as well as ads on radio, billboards, and digital media.
Wells Fargo Center due for a makeover
The partnership comes as the arena works on a $265 million remake with major upgrades. The new items include a massive scoreboard and an all-inclusive event-level VIP club. Plans also include complete redesigns of both levels hosting the sportsbook-style lounges.
Mattias Stetz, COO of Rush Street Interactive, the operator of SugarHouse’s sportsbooks, sees the value of cultivating Philly sports fans:
Philly has some of the best sports fans in the country, and we look forward to hosting them in our sports lounges at the stunning Wells Fargo Center.
The new lounges are planned for the Main Concourse and the arena’s top level. That nearly 6,500-square-foot-lounge will face the bowl so fans can watch the action as it happens.
Each lounge features club chairs, a bar, table seating, and 22 feet long by eight feet tall LED video wall with a dedicated seating area. There are dozens of additional screens in the works as well.
The Main Concourse level lounge is in the redesigned south end of the arena. It is approximately 5,680 square feet.
SugarHouse ambassadors assigned to both lounges can assist guests in registering for the online sportsbook and making wagers.
Sports betting partnerships are on the rise
Partnerships between sportsbooks and teams are a spreading trend.
Just last week, the Parx Casino and its sportsbook partnered with the Philadelphia Union soccer club and its Talen Energy Stadium.
SugarHouse is rebranding as Rivers Casino Philadelphia later this year. The sports lounges at Wells Fargo Center will reflect the new Rivers brand.
A little less than a year ago, the Philadelphia 76ers did a deal with Caesars, which has an NJ sportsbook, and PA sports betting app on the way.
It’s not 100% clear if that deal will carry over to PA. After all, these SugarHouse lounges appear in the arena where the Sixers play.
The Philadelphia Eagles have no such deal. NFL teams are only allowed to have “casino partners,” not specific deals with sportsbook operators.
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