Located opposite STACK and under the A66, Pitch! Sports Bar will transform a prominent local site - the former Bar Fresco building - creating a new hospitality and leisure destination for live sport, food, drink, and entertainment.
First-look visuals of the venue reveal a bold, high-energy space designed around big-screen sport, interactive entertainment, high occupancy levels, comfortable seating and a strong matchday atmosphere. The opening follows a behind-the-scenes fit-out that has transformed the site into a two-floor sports and social venue built for fans, friends, families and groups.
Pitch! Sports Bar will feature a 23ft LED screen covering both floors, supported by 27 anti-glare TVs throughout the venue, including 2 x 32-inch screens, 2 x 75-inch screens and 23 x 55-inch screens. The technology set-up means the venue can show up to six sports at any one time, making it a new Teesside destination for football, darts, Formula 1, rugby, boxing and other major sporting fixtures.
On the first floor, visitors will also find two sports simulators and interactive darts, adding an entertainment-led experience alongside live sport, complete with a mezzanine deck for uninterrupted viewing of the big screen.
The launch is being led by Teesside headquartered, Pneuma Group, which is investing in the venue as part of its commitment to creating vibrant city-centre hospitality spaces and supporting local communities.
Steve Brooke, CEO of Pneuma Group, said:
“Pitch! Sports Bar represents an exciting investment in a prominent Middlesbrough location, and we are proud to be bringing this unique, immersive sports and social venue to the town.
“Our ambition is to create much more than a place to watch live sport. Pitch! Sports Bar will be a high-quality hospitality venue, engaging visitors through interactive sports experiences that combine the thrill of real sports with the fun of high-tech simulation, whilst supporting sustainable local employment opportunities, strengthening existing local partnerships and community links, and adding another reason for people to visit and enjoy this already vibrant part of Middlesbrough.
“Middlesbrough has a huge passion for sport and a strong sense of community, and Pitch! Sports Bar has been designed exactly around that energy. Whether people are coming in for the football, darts, F1, food, drinks with friends, or a big night out - set around a major sporting fixture - we want Pitch! Sports Bar to feel like a venue that belongs to the town.”
The food and drink offer has also been created with matchdays, group bookings and social visits in mind with a menu designed around modern, easy to share, sports bar favourites, designed for matchdays, group bookings, family visits and nights out.
Customers will be able to use the free Pitch! Sports Bar app to book seats, tickets for exclusive events and book sports activities as well as order food and drink or enjoy a VIP experience in one of the five VIP booths that are available to reserve. Food orders will be collected from designated areas in the venue, helping to keep service simple and efficient during busy sporting fixtures and events.
The opening of Pitch! Sports Bar marks a significant new investment in Middlesbrough’s hospitality and leisure economy, transforming a prominent local site into a vibrant multi-sports and entertainment venue designed to attract residents, visitors, fans, families and groups.
Bringing together big-screen sport, food, drink, interactive entertainment and a strong social offer, Pitch! Sports Bar will create a hospitality experience unique to Middlesbrough, supporting the wider regeneration of the town centre whilst creating sustainable local employment opportunities, strengthening local partnerships and adding fresh energy to one of the area’s most recognisable evening economy and leisure destinations.
