Cordish sports bar concept to replace Live Casino concert venue

A sports bar will take the place of a concert venue at the Live Casino as the Hanover attraction shifts its focus to a larger performance area at a newly opened hotel next door.

Sports & Social, a "gaming parlor and social lounge," will open in the space currently used in the center of the casino as a 500-seat concert hall.

"We don't need it any longer as an event center, so we're going to reposition it," Cordish said in an interview Wednesday. "All the details are not worked out, but sports are going to be a big part of it."

He said an opening date has yet to be worked out. The casino has already started to look for a general manager for the new sports bar, according to a listing on LinkedIn.

The decision comes as Live prepares to open a much larger performance venue inside the adjacent Live Hotel, which made its official debut on Wednesday. The Grand Event Center will have an initial capacity of 1,500 seats before doubling its size next year to 40,000 square feet, with the ability to accommodate 4,000 people.

Live Center Stage, formerly called Rams Head Center Stage, opened in the casino in August 2012 as a venue for headline acts as well as local bands. Recent concerts include En Vogue, Everclear and the Gin Blossoms.

The performance space also hosts weekly theme nights, like Lunes Latino, Tribute Thursday and the jazz-centric Smooth Sunday. Concerts are scheduled at least through late July, according to Live Center Stage's online calendar; upcoming shows include KleptoRadio on June 16 and Alter Ego on July 21.

Cordish Cos. is already using the Sports & Social concept at its properties in Louisville and Atlanta. Atlanta's Sports & Social features two levels with a 30-foot TV screen and a menu of shareable plates, beer and cocktails. Visitors to the bar can try out a golf simulator and play games like skeeball, table tennis, shuffle puck and air hockey. The Sports & Social is part of Cordish's entertainment complex next to SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.

Sporting events could become more important to Live and other Maryland casinos if sports betting is legalized in the state. The Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on the practice last month, opening the door for individual states to decide whether or not to enable sports gambling. In Maryland, state legislators would have to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot by a three-fifths vote, and then voters would have an opportunity to approve or reject the proposal.

Cordish said the decision to open a sports bar in the casino predates the Supreme Court ruling, but said that gambling "could certainly fit in there if it comes to pass."