DraftKings at TPC Scottsdale Breaks Ground….And History

Together with DraftKings, TPC Scottsdale made history this week when it christened the first ever sportsbook located on a PGA Tour tournament site. DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale is slated to open next fall. 

Background

DraftKings and the PGA Tour actually first teamed up back in 2019, when the two sealed an agreement that made DraftKings the official daily fantasy sports partner of the PGA Tour. Then, in July of 2020, the two expanded their partnership to make DraftKings the official sports betting partner of the PGA Tour. 

In April 2021, on the heels of Arizona’s legalization of sports betting, the plans to create a DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale were announced. Construction began in May 2022, and the two parties “celebrated” the milestone this week, on Dec. 6. 

DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale

The retail sportsbook will sit across the street from the clubhouse for the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course and adjacent to TPC Champions, the par-71 “sister course” to the main course. 

Sizing up to about 12,000 square feet, the space will feature over 3,400 square feet of video walls and television screens, 40 sports betting kiosks, seven ticket windows, and approximately 390 indoor and outdoor seats. It will offer a “high-end dining experience,” VIP cabanas, high-speed internet access, and more. 

“We know this new facility will be worthy of Scottsdale and Arizona’s reputation as a world-class destination, and help maximize the PGA Tour’s economic, tourism and charitable impacts on this state and this community,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said at the Dec. 6 ceremony. 

Success & Outlook

While the pending development will be equally beneficial and most likely very successful, they may have to wait until 2024 to see it pay dividends. 

With an expected launch coming in late 2023, it will miss the Super Bowl in February which is taking place at Arizona’s very own State Farm Stadium. But more importantly, it’s missing TPC Scottsdale’s annual event – the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This event is widely considered to house the biggest attendance of all PGA Tour events, but it takes place annually in February, meaning excited golf fans won’t yet be able to cross the street to place their bets. 

“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,” said DraftKings Chief Business Officer Ezra Kucharz. “That’s why we do these things.”

Waste Management Open attendees will have to stick with the mobile experience for the upcoming tournament – but rest assured that plenty will take advantage of the online sports betting opportunities available to them with or without DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale. 

“It’s been a huge betting tournament for us since we launched sports betting,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said. “Golf basically doubled year over year for us in betting volume. Golf is such a great sport for betting because there is plenty of time between shots for live betting.”