Barstool Sports Headquarters
Project Case Study
Barstool Sports was established in 2003 and has grown to become a large media company with podcast and video series, blogs, events, and more focused around sports, pop culture, and sports gambling.
Barstool Sports HQ
Chicago, Illinois
CASE STUDY
ADDRESS
400 North Noble Street
SIZE 2-stories
33,000 SF
COMPLETION
October 2022
DESCRIPTION
With offices desiring to reinvent their spaces to attract and retain workers, multimedia sports and entertainment company Barstool Sports had a clear vision of what it wanted for its new corporate headquarters in relocating from New York to Chicago’s hip Fulton Market neighborhood. The result: an un-office concept designed to be a “fun-factory” for its talented and dynamic content creators.
DELIVERING THE WOW
Enlisted to bring the concept to reality, BKV refurbished the entirety of the 33,000-squarefoot, two-story loft space, which includes a dozen podcast studios, three large broadcast studios, a fully
equipped commercial kitchen, full-length basketball court and open-office seating overlooking the court for the companies’ approximately 60 employees to work, create, mingle, and of course, play.
Amenities
• BASKETBALL COURT
• GOLF SIMULATOR
• BEVERAGE AREAS
• TURF COURT FOR VARIOUS GAMES
• COMMERCIAL KITCHEN WITH WALK IN REFRIGERATOR
• BROADCAST STUDIOS
• PODCAST STUDIOS
• OPEN OFFICE SPACES
A BRAND OF BRANDS
With the popularity of Barstool Sports’ programming on YouTube, every nook and cranny in the new space has a visual purpose – from the multiple bar areas to the reception desk to the broom closest –which can all serve as backgrounds for a show broadcast or an impromptu Instagram moment from one the program’s hosts or a visiting celebrity guest. Strategically placed signage and digital screens adorn the walls throughout to promote corporate sponsors and other partners.
Barstool and BKV didn’t just look at the new spaces as a great place to create content or broadcast fun shows, but as the gold standard in modern day corporate offices, where the office itself is an amenity and a destination where people want to be day-in and day-out. It can also serve as a model for other firms or companies wanting to reinvent or reinvigorate their spaces.
Plans
Take a video tour of the Barstool office
“The office feels like an all-time classic, and conceptually, the “Homecoming” of Barstool Sports in Chicago. The central focus of energy at the basketball court creates a layer of warmth that spills out into the rest of the workplace. As you circulate through the space, you can’t help but engage in the community and familiarity that is the Barstool Sports brand, which has really allowed for such a cool and vibrant environment to flourish. The new office is everything that we dreamed of and more.
DAN “BIG CAT” KATZ
Podcast Host, Barstool Sports
