Date is set for the opening of newest CT sports betting venue.
HARTFORD — A long-awaited, $5 million sports betting venue at downtown Hartford’s XL Center will open on Sept. 18, the same night as an NFL double header.
“It’s the perfect night for it because there is going to be two Monday night football games,” Christopher Davis, a spokesman for the Connecticut Lottery Corp, said Wednesday. “Fans will be able to come in and check out both games that night and check out the new facility.”
Davis said the venue, whose entrance is at the corner of Church and Ann Uccello streets, will open at 5:30 p.m. and a ribbon cutting is planned at 6 p.m.
A “soft opening” also is planned the week before the official opening but those dates — and times — are still being determined, Davis said.
The sportsbook — one of the largest in the state authorized by a sweeping expansion of legalized gambling nearly two years — is seen as part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate the aging Xl Center with a new, attractive amenity. The sports betting venue is expected to attract visitors to the XL Center even when there are not scheduled events in and provide a new source of revenue for an arena that has struggled financially for years.
The venue will have 14 self-service kiosks for making wagers and two counters for placing bets, plus a full bar and dining menu. A 250-foot long, scrolling ticker will provide constant updates of sports scores and news. There will be over 80 video monitors — including some in booths along a new glass wall facing Ann Uccello Street — tuned to a broad spectrum of sporting events.
Patrons at the venue don’t necessarily need to gamble, but can also gather for food and drinks while watching a game that is being televised, Davis said.
On days when there are events booked at the XL Center, tickets aren’t required to enter the betting venue from the street at the rear of the arena. Ticket holders will be able to move back and forth from the sportsbook and the arena by showing their tickets.
Open seven days a week, the hours are still being determined, but are likely to be 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.
The opening of the sportsbook has been a long time in coming. The opening was delayed a year because construction materials — everything from glass and components for heating and cooling systems to even chips for video display boards — was backlogged for months in the aftermath of the pandemic’s supply-chain disruptions.
Initially, it was hoped the sportsbook would open Sept. 2 to coincide with the start of the NFL’s regular season, which begins Sept. 7. But working out last-minute details pushed the date back to Sept. 18.
There is optimism that the sportsbook will be the lead-in to a much larger, $107 million renovation contemplated for the 16,000-seat arena, perhaps beginning as early as next year.
