Jay-Z and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin hosted an invitation-only pop-up of the redesigned 40/40 Club this past weekend at Fanatics Fest NYC.
The latest version of the tycoon's famed sports bar – expected to reopen sometime in 2025 – will have Fanatics Sportsbook integrated, allowing customers to place live bets while watching games.
The 40/40 Club has been closed since August 2023, but Memphis Bleek said TMZ that the athlete's arm “comes back bigger, stronger than ever.” In a recent exclusive interview with Us Weeklyvice president of operations Sheldon Robinson confirmed his return, telling the store, “It was always the plan to open a new location. Finding the right location that makes sense for the brand is key and takes some time. We've narrowed it down to our last options and now we're in the negotiation phase.” Adding, “Hopefully by the end of this year we'll have signed a lease and be able to hit the ground running. The idea is that we will have a club in 2025.”
Robinson also revealed that Jigga was very involved in the process and was in meetings and checking out potential sites. “Jay definitely wants to keep it as part of his legacy,” she said. “It just shows, whether it's a young entrepreneur or just people working around him, that when you envision something or dream something, you can make it happen. He is living proof of that.”
And he promised they plan to keep some of the same things that made the club unique in the first place, just with an updated vision. “You'll feel like you're walking into the club, a revamped version of it,” Robinson explained. “Similar feel, similar texture. Seeing the cool jerseys walk our Hall of Fame wall like we had on the second floor. Looking at the champagne tower above the main bar. The giant screens, too. We'll have all the same touches that people were used to at the old club.”
He concluded the interview by saying, “They're all the reasons Jay and his partners opened the club in the first place. They wanted to create an environment where guests would have that feeling of luxury, good service, good food, while watching their favorite sports team play, but also listening to their favorite artists. It combines sports and music… and we will stay consistent.”
