The South Florida sports bar experience will rise to new levels of interaction and immersion next month when PLAY Sporting Lounge opens next month at CityPlace Doral. The 12,000 square-foot venue – sister to the smaller PLAY Sports Bar at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood – will feature seven Full Swing-driven sports simulator suites that offer games such as golf, hockey, baseball, shooting and zombie dodgeball, as well as three digital dart lanes.
Founded by the ethos of “Play, Love, Act,’’ PLAY Sports Bar opened at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as a concept created by hospitality veteran Adam Flierl and entrepreneur Terry Lee.
“We were actually talking to the Hard Rock about a different project, but a tenant pulled out of the Guitar Hotel,’’ Flierl said. “We jumped at it. We opened in January 2020 – just before the Super Bowl in Miami. It was just gangbusters.
Adam Flieri
“We hit the Motherload, but six weeks later, Covid hit. The timing couldn’t have been worse, but we survived. Over the course of the next couple of years, it gave us a chance to think about the brand.’’
The result is PLAY Sporting Lounge, a blending of virtual sports technologies and chef-driven cuisine in a family-friendly setting.
“One of our tag lines is “Watch Sports Play Sports,’’ Flierl said. “We’re leaning into multi-entertainment. Make it accessible to people and kind of rebrand the sports bar market.’’
Knowing Flierl’s history with celebrated Chef Roy Yamaguchi on Maui and later as food and beverage director at Topgolf, it’s no surprise that PLAY sporting Lounge Doral – with seating for more than 300 guests – promises to set the standard in high-end sports bar cuisine.
Terry Lee
“We’ll see a really cool, elevated approach to bar food,’’ Flierl said. “But there’s a balance in there. We’ll still have wings and burgers – things that people want when watching a game – but our approach is quality over quantity. We’ll make our burgers and smoked and grilled wings at the highest level.’’
Unlike the Hard Rock location, PLAY Sporting Lounge will have its own kitchen – led by Executive Chef Manny Saavedra and Corporate Chef Justin Fields – presenting a multi-cultural menu that will include Texas brisket, “Play Eat Sea” towers featuring Jumbo Shrimp, Colossal Lump Crab, Tuna Poke, Chimichurri Oysters, and Bay Scallop & Shrimp Ceviche, sushi, flatbreads, .flatbreads, bowls, desserts and a kids’ menu.
The beverage program will be equally as substantial, with craft cocktails, draft beer, wine, and alcohol-free offerings. Housemade cocktails will include the Bramble Bliss with Crown Royal Blackberry, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Chambord floater, the Lychee Caipirinha, with Brazilian Cachaca liqueur, J.F. Haden’s Lychee Liqueur, sugar, and lime; and a Rock N’ Roll Margarita, with Rock N Roll Platinum, fruit puree, Triple Sec, and fresh lime.
“Our approach is, we have to remember who we are – a bar,’’ Flierl said. “You won’t see a lot “knife and fork’ items. It’s all about quality ingredients and listening to your guests. They will tell you what they want. Bars about beer, cocktails and having fun.
And for lifelong friends Flierl and Lee, PLAY is about giving back through their PLA IT FORWARD Foundation, a non-profit/community engagement arm of the F&B concept dedicated to helping underprivileged youth through sports.
“Our goal was to create a place that would allow us and the team to have fun (PLAY), be respected and give respect (LOVE) and be of service to the community (ACT),’’ Lee said. “Everything came from that.”
Photos Courtesy of PLAY Sporting Lounge