The traditional concession fare in Washington D.C.’s Capital One Arena will have company in the form of a sportsbook, perhaps in 2020.
William Hill, the veteran British sports betting company, will set up shop in what is believed to be the first such parlor operating out of an arena in the U.S. William Hill signed an exclusive partnership with the arena’s owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment to seek approvals and build and operate the sportsbook.
“We rent to a Dunkin Donuts. And we’re renting out a big part of our building to William Hill. We collect rent. There’s no revenue-sharing,” said Ted Leonsis, chairman, founder, principal partner and CEO of Monumental.
The deal is contingent on governmental approvals, and those approvals are not a certainty. Still, executives from William Hill and Monumental held a conference call on October 3 to unveil the proposal. The call featured Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, and Leonsis, who also owns the NBA Washington Wizards and Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.
“It’s been something we’ve been working on for quite some time,” Asher said. “We made a real focus of ours to try to win the business here and come up with an agreement that would allow us to operate a world class sports book within the Capital One Arena.”
The book will be more than a betting parlor. It will feature dining and equally important, will be available 365 days a year, from morning to late at night, regardless of an event at the arena.
“We think William Hill is the hands on leader in that space. And so for us it was a great strategic fit,” said Leonsis, who said the sportsbook will serve multiple functions, including:
- Reducing the amount of illegal gambling
- Creating jobs
- Enhancing the tax base in Washington D.C.
- Putting the arena to work hosting games, concerts and other events
While the arena is a sponsor and will help promote the sportsbook amenity through the firm’s Monumental Sports Network, that’s as far as the relationship goes. “We will never be in the gaming business. Our main business will continue to be winning championships and making the playoffs with every team we have and every league we compete in,” Leonsis said.
According to Asher, the necessary legislation was approved, as were the regulations. “We have to apply for a license. They hopefully will act favorably on it.”
That would be up to DC Lottery, which oversees the regulations, including the application procedure.
Asked how long the process will take, Asher didn’t know. “I think if you were a betting man, pardon the pun, you would probably bet on sometime in 2020. But I’d be reluctant to steer you to January or to December. We’ll sort of let the regulatory process play out. Obviously we’ve got the construction work that needs to be done as well.”
The book, which will span multiple floors, will be accessible to the public from F Street.
William Hill is working on finding the architect to design the space and a restaurant partner to operate the dining component. “I wouldn’t throw out a specific number on the build-out. But obviously it’s going to be in the millions of dollars to do it because we’re going to do it right,” Asher said.
Another glitch to deal with concerns an NBA rule that bars direct access to a sportsbook from within an arena during live games. Patrons would have to go outside the arena and enter the sportsbook through an exterior door.
“It’s a pretty poor fan experience to say that folks, you got to walk outside, make a left, make another left, place your bet at halftime and then do the opposite to get back in,” Asher said. ”And of course people will be able to bet right in their seats on their mobile phones as they do today at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. I haven’t heard anything of that nature from the NHL. Obviously it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. But we’ll see how it plays out.”
In the end, William Hill will comply with whatever rules apply.
Leonsis said the partnership with William Hill and the sportsbook will play it conservatively out of the gate. “We want to make sure that we don’t make any mistakes. It’s one thing I’m very cognizant of being in Washington, D.C. All eyes will be on us,” he said.
He also believes that as time goes on and data comes in, officials will make decisions on how this rolls out, based on what’s best for the consumer.
Still another hang-up is the NCAA potential response to betting during Georgetown games. The Hoyas play their home games at the arena. New Jersey, for example, prohibits betting on college teams from the state at any of the sportsbooks.
While the sportsbook expects to be the first of its kind in the country, the Prudential Center in Newark has a lounge with a bar and features ambassadors who help patrons download gaming apps to place bets through their mobile phones, Asher said. “That’s very different than what we’re talking about here which is an actual sportsbook, akin to the finest ones you might see in Las Vegas or in Atlantic City,” Leonsis said.
Because the sportsbook will be open outside of game days, people from throughout the Washington metro area can visit to watch cricket or soccer or other contests.
”We want to have people come here and eat and watch games and be able to bet,” Leonsis added. “That’s why I was so attracted to William Hill. We think this can also become a tourist destination.”
During the Stanley Cup run last spring, 20,000 people filled the arena to watch a televised game on the road. Others watched on televisions outside the arena.
”It struck us that there were these big events around the world. And if William Hill could get rights to watch some of these events during the day the arena is not being used, what an awesome kind of event to be able to bring people into the arena during the day,” Leonsis said. “We’ll find ways to leverage our building and the big screens and be able to work with William Hill to do innovative and unique events.”
