: Barstool Sports boosting its presence in Chicago, but New York remains headquarters: spokesperson

Barstool Sports Inc., the irreverent and sometimes controversial sports-oriented media company, is opening an office in the booming Fulton Market area just west of the Chicago Loop that, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, could span 40,000 square feet. Barstool was founded in suburban Boston and has been based in Manhattan since 2016. It was acquired this year by Penn Entertainment Inc. PENN, which owns and manages gaming and racing facilities and slot-machine and related gambling operations. Barstool-branded sports bars have opened in recent years with locations in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Phoenix area, as has a Barstool sportsbook, which is legally operational in 15 states, including Illinois, according to Variety. Barstool has 641 employees, the careers site Zippia indicates. Barstool representative Debra Duffy said that some New York staff and talent will relocate to Chicago, while others will remain in New York and that New York would remain the headquarters location. It had previously been reported, including by MarketWatch, that the Chicago site would become the company’s headquarters.

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