Daily fantasy sports operator Draft-Kings has signed a three-year marketing partnership with Staples Center and will have naming rights to a new fantasy sports bar and lounge to be built at the Los Angeles arena.
The DraftKings Fantasy Sports Bar & Lounge, set to open in September on Staples Center’s main concourse, will be a 4,400-square-foot bar and restaurant that will offer connected TVs, tablets and computers to enable fantasy sports play while at the building. DraftKings customers will receive discounts on food and beverages.
DraftKings will receive other assets, including digital signage, online and social media presence, and hospitality benefits that allow for the awarding of one-of-a-kind VIP experiences at Staples Center to DraftKings players.
DraftKings also gains the ability to use the space for its own private events and broadcasts, including on the rare dark days on Staples Center’s calendar.
AEG Global Partnerships, which negotiated the deal on behalf of Staples Center owner AEG, also brokered a companion contract extension between sister entity Los Angeles Kings and DraftKings. The hockey club was part of an initial batch of teams that signed individually with DraftKings when the NHL last fall signed a multiyear partnership.
That Kings deal with DraftKings helped spur along the broader discussions with Staples Center. The latest move arrives as AEG and concessions partner Levy Restaurants begin a multiyear effort to update the food, beverage and merchandise offerings at the building.
The DraftKings Fantasy Sports Bar & Lounge will occupy space previously used by the Team LA merchandise shop. That shop has been moved to an 8,000-square-foot location just outside the arena.
“It was time for a new concept on the main concourse,” said Lee Zeidman, Staples Center and L.A. Live president. “We really needed a sports bar type of offering, and we believe this not only gives us another destination spot within the building but complements the rest of L.A. Live.”
Financial terms were not disclosed, but construction and development costs for the new bar and lounge are pegged at between $1 million and $1.5 million.
The Staples Center deal bears similarity to another agreement DraftKings signed last month with Madison Square Garden to become a signature partner at the New York arena. That deal calls for the creation of a branded fantasy lounge on the building’s SAP Madison Concourse, but that location will be smaller than what is contemplated in Los Angeles.
