Barstool Sports Moves Some NYC Operations To Chicago
Barstool Sports Inc. will lease a 40K SF property just west of Chicago’s Fulton Market as it moves some of its Manhattan-based operations to the city.
The often controversial sports and pop culture media company has leased most of a warehouse at 400 North Noble St. on the Near West Side with plans to open in September, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Barstool Sports is currently headquartered at 333 Seventh Ave. in New York and has about 400 employees, according to the company.
Despite published reports Friday the move would place the company’s headquarters in the Windy City, Barstool Sports spokeswoman Debra Duffy told Bisnow the move involved only some of its New York-based team.
“While we are super excited to relocate to a bigger office in Chicago (we do have a small one there now), Chicago is not becoming our HQ,” Duffy said in an email Saturday. “A portion of the NYC team will head out there, including our #1 sports podcast Pardon my Take. And then several employees will still be in NYC office including our CEO and executive leadership team.”
It remains unclear how many employees will move to Chicago or what Barstool Sports’ plans are for its existing Chicago location at 855 West Belmont Ave. Shapack Partners and Magnetar Capital founder Alec Litowitz did not respond to Crain's requests for comment, although the move was previewed in a March 1 Pardon My Take podcast by co-host Dan "Big Cat" Katz, a former Chicago resident who moved to New York.
"The amount of content that we're going to be able to create day-to-day is going to be insane just by the space that we have," Katz said on the popular Barstool Sports program.
The property will reportedly offer enough room for a full-size basketball court, a golf simulator, music recording and kitchen studios, and space for content creation.
The deal will bring occupancy to 100% at the building, which Shapack and Litowitz bought for $6.5M in 2019, and adds to the activity happening just west of the bustling Fulton Market. Advanced manufacturing incubator mHub is planning to move its operations nearby, Crain’s reported, apartment projects are underway and a new Metra station is in early review.
The move comes two months after Barstool was fully acquired by gaming operator Penn Entertainment, a partnership that began in 2020 and spawned Barstool Sportsbook, a mobile betting platform that is operational in 15 states, including Illinois.
Founded by Dave Portnoy as a free sports and gambling newspaper in Boston in 2003, Barstool Sports launched its internet presence in 2007. The company moved to New York after being acquired by The Chernin Group. Penn bought out that company's remaining interest for $388M in February, per Crain's.
Barstool Sports says it has more than 200 million followers, producing and distributing upward of 100 podcasts as well as hosting video, social media, live and pay-per-view events. In recent years, it has opened Barstool sports bars in Chicago, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
The company has drawn controversy and accusations of misogyny with its coverage of female athletes and its followers' treatment of women online.
CORRECTION, APRIL 8, 3:45 CT: An earlier version of this story repeated erroneous published reports that Barstool Sports intended to relocate its New York City headquarters. It has been updated.
