The wildest event on the PGA Tour looks to get crazier. The TPC Scottsdale, which hosts the WM Phoenix Open on February 9 through 12, will soon be getting its own sportsbook on the property.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, WM Phoenix Open Chairman Michael Golding, and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins participated in a ground-breaking ceremony recently for the new sportsbook.
The announcement of the sportsbook was held back in April 2021 and even though the ceremony was held last week, construction has been going on since May 2022.
Construction should be completed by the fall of 2023. Plans for the first such facility at a PGA Tour event call for 390 seats, 40 betting kiosks, seven wagering windows, a restaurant, outdoor patio, VIP cabanas and video walls.
Monahan described it as “a visually stunning 19th hole.” He added that this is just one of many endeavors the tour has with the sports betting operator.
“When we first began conversations with DraftKings in 2019, we knew they would be a partner of many firsts,” Monahan said. “We know this new facility will be worthy of Scottsdale’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.”
Robins told those in attendance at the ground-breaking ceremony that he is excited about the project.
“I can’t wait to open the doors to this first-of-its-kind sportsbook that will supplement one of the world’s best golf destinations,” Robins said. “We are in for quite a treat when this thing opens, and for many years to come.”
Ironically, the sportsbook will be closed during the tournament, local media has reported. Instead it will be used as a hospitality tent.
While this is the first of its kind in the country, it is not the first such facility associated with an Arizona professional team.
When sports betting was legalized in the Grand Canyon State in April 2021 the state awarded licenses to 10 Native American tribes and eight professional sporting teams.
The Arizona Cardinals, who are partnered with BetMGM, opened a two-story sportsbook on the property where the NFL team plays its home games.
The Major League Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks were the first to allow fans to place an in-person wager. They have an agreement with Caesars.
The other professional sports teams that have sports betting licenses are Phoenix Suns (FanDuel), WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury (Bally Bet), Phoenix Raceway (Barstool Sportsbook), NHL’s Arizona Coyotes (SaharaBets) and Indoor Football’s Arizona Rattlers (BetRivers).
