Leonsis called adding a sportsbook a "fantastic reengineering" of the building for his teamsGETTY IMAGES
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chair & CEO Ted Leonsis "has intentions of putting a sportsbook" inside Capital One Arena, the "first of its kind in the U.S.," according to Darren Rovell of THE ACTION NETWORK. While it has been "speculated that Leonsis was going to go through with a sportsbook, Wednesday was the first time he confirmed it publicly." Leonsis at the American Gaming Association's Sports Betting Exec Summit on Wednesday said, "There will be a sportsbook inside the building accessible from the outside and depending on the league and depending on the event, it might be accessible from the inside as well." He "envisions a brick-and-mortear operation with a partner to create the distance necessary to maintain integrity" (ACTIONNETWORK.com, 3/27). Leonsis: "You have a sportsbook in the arena, maybe we have 20,000 people to watch us play on the road. I'd like to bring 20,000 people in to watch football games and go to our partner site and eat and gamble. That would be a fantastic reengineering of what we can do with our building. I want to make the building the iconic, most important convener place for the community. This will allow us to do it" (AP, 3/28).
