State of Play signs for flagship Flight Club in NYC
The social darts concept will open in an iconic Union Square building in 2025.
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A leading operator of competitive socialising concepts has signed the lease to open a flagship venue in New York City.
State of Play Hospitality is bringing its technology-enabled Social Darts® brand Flight Club to 31 Union Square West. It will be the group's first venue in Manhattan, its ninth lease for the Flight Club brand in North America and a global flagship.
The group, which also owns and operates Bounce and Hijingo, first brought Flight Club to the US under license in the downtown Loop area of Chicago in 2018. Since its debut in the country, the group has also brought the brand to Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Denver, and has new branches opening in late 2024 in both Washington DC and Philadelphia.
The 10,700 sq ft former bank spans both the ground floor and basement, with a patio on 16th Street. The venue most recently housed the Blue Water Grill restaurant and has a storied history. Built by the Bank of Metropolis in 1902–03 as their new headquarters, 31 Union Square West is a 16-storey Renaissance Revival building designed by architect Bruce Price. It was designated a city landmark in 1988 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Flight Club New York
The opening is scheduled for late 2025. Inspired by the rich heritage of darts from British pubs and Victorian fairgrounds, Flight Club offers automated scoring and various multiplayer games for groups of all sizes, as well as food and craft cocktail menus.
Toby Harris, CEO of State of Play, comments: "We've been looking for the right real estate opportunity to land Flight Club in New York for over five years, and this site has the potential to be a genuine landmark for the city and the group. Both 31 Union Square as a building and the stunning split-level Flight Club space are as close to the physical brief for the brand that we could wish for.
"It's exciting and humbling to be opening our North American Flight Club flagship at such a legendary location and I'm confident that, by complementing and retaining the character of the building, we will be able to do it justice."