(Bloomberg) -- In a sign of how much pro sports franchises are catering to wealthy fans, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is spending $20 million to open a private club at the NBA team’s arena with a $15,000 annual membership fee.
“We’re not sparing any dollars on this,” Ishbia said in an interview about the Ra Ra Room, which offers high-end dining. The team wanted to “make it best in class, and money will follow down the road.”
Teams have long catered to the well-heeled with offerings such as suites and waiter service, but now franchises are adding even more amenities. The strategy is part of a broader push to get fans to spend more money beyond the game. Many clubs are developing the land around their stadiums and arenas into entertainment districts.
The Ra Ra Room, which is slated to host its first guests next week, won’t be for just game days, either. It will be open from Thursday though Saturday at the Footprint Center, where the Suns play home games, regardless of whether there’s an event.
“We could open the venue for days where we just have events, but that is short-sighted,” Ishbia said. “Why not expand it and give people access.”
Ishbia brought on Mario Carbone’s Major Food Group, which runs high-end restaurants and private clubs, to create the Ra Ra Room. Oak View Group will operate the venue alongside MFG, which also created the Crown Club, a luxury dining venue at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“It checks so many boxes for us,” Carbone said. The venue is going to “pluck you out of the world you know and drop you into a completely different one.”
The annual membership fee for the Ra Ra Room includes concierge for reservations, valet parking and access to two private dining rooms. Members can also get pre-sale access to tickets for NBA and WNBA games (Ishbia also owns the Phoenix Mercury, who share the arena with the Suns), concerts and other events.
The Ra Ra Room is Ishbia’s latest investment in Phoenix. In July, the Mercury opened a training facility that cost $100 million. He purchased the Suns and Mercury in 2023 for $4 billion, the highest price paid for an NBA team.
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(Updates with additional details in sixth paragraph.)
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