A new marketing campaign and menu change are ramping up numbers at XL Center’s sports betting lounge.
The Sports Bar & Fanatics Sportsbook opened in September on the Ann Uccello Street side of the XL Center in Hartford. XL Center management blamed a change in vendors and the venue’s newness for losses projected in January to total $700,000 by the end of June.
The January-launched marketing campaign and staff and menu changes cut monthly losses by 50 percent through February, according to the Capital Region Development Authority, which oversees the venue.
With the changes, losses by the end of June from the XL sportsbook are now projected to be $350,000, with the potential for additional improvement, CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said.
