Best Sports Bars in Scottsdale to Watch Football This Season

Football is back this week, which in Scottsdale means one thing: pick your bar wisely or spend three quarters standing behind someone's shoulder trying to see the screen. We've spent a lot of Sundays, and Thursdays, and the occasional Monday night, in these places while building guys trips and watch parties around town, so we know which ones actually deliver. Here are the best sports bars in Scottsdale this season, ranked on the stuff that matters: screens you can actually see, seats you can actually get, and food that isn't an afterthought.

One honest caveat before we start. "Best" depends on your group. Best for a rowdy 20-person crew is not the same as best for two people who just want a quiet booth and the game. We'll tell you which is which as we go.

Scottsdale takes this seriously for reasons beyond loyalty. Cactus League spring training already trains half the city to expect a bar on every corner with a screen and a beer list, ASU football pulls a huge Sun Devil crowd into Old Town most fall weekends, and the winter visitor population means you'll find just about every out-of-market team represented somewhere in this list. That's a long way of saying: you have options, and it's not just us saying so, Experience Scottsdale calls the city's sports bar scene a legitimate destination in its own right. Here's how we'd sort them.

Quick note before we get into it: if the idea of fighting a crowd for a table sounds worse than the game itself, skip ahead to how we host watch parties in Scottsdale instead.

Duke's Sports Bar & Grill

Duke's, at 7607 E McDowell Rd, is the no-frills option and we mean that as a compliment. This is a neighborhood bar that has been doing sports right since before "sports bar" was a marketing category. Pool tables, shuffleboard, Foosball, and a wall of screens for football, basketball, hockey, and NCAA games, open daily from noon on. Nobody is trying to sell you a $22 cocktail here. If your group wants to actually watch the game instead of being seen watching the game, this is your bar.

Tradeoff: it's south of Old Town, so it's not a walk-to spot if you're staying near the main strip, and it skews divey rather than polished. Great for die-hards, less great if someone in your group wants a photo-worthy patio.

Zipps Sports Grill

Zipps is less a single bar and more a Scottsdale institution with five locations to choose from (Camelback, Hayden, Frank Lloyd Wright, Kierland, and the Goldie's Sports Cafe offshoot), which is honestly the smartest thing about it. Big group split on where to watch? Somebody's Zipps is close by. The Camelback location is the one we send guys trips to most often because it's a quick rideshare from Old Town, but if your crew is staying north near Kierland, that location covers you just as well.

Expect a wall of TVs, a full sports package lineup, and a wing menu built for a three-hour game, not a five-minute snack. The tradeoff is that it's a chain, so don't expect a one-of-a-kind vibe. You're going for reliability, not romance.

Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers

Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, at 4222 N Scottsdale Rd right in the heart of Old Town, isn't trying to reinvent the sports bar. It's a genuine neighborhood burger-and-beer joint with a patio built for the game, football specials on the menu instead of just a happy hour deck, and free parking nearby, which in Old Town is basically a miracle. It's also a local mini-chain with four Scottsdale locations, so if this one's slammed, there's a version of it closer to wherever you're staying.

Tradeoff: they don't publicize a TV count, and the whole place leans more food-forward than screen-forward. If raw screen real estate is your only metric, keep scrolling. If you want a genuinely good burger while you watch, this is the pick.

K O'Donnell's Sports Bar & Grill

This is the one we'd pick if we had to pick just one. K O'Donnell's, at 14850 N Northsight Blvd near the 101 and Raintree, runs 75-plus TVs and carries ESPN+, Peacock, FUBO, and every major league package, so the out-of-market game you actually care about is not a gamble here. It's family-owned and has been since 2005, which shows in how the place is run: award-winning patio, a genuine trivia night, and enough local recognition (Best Sports Bar, AZ Central, and Best Place to Catch the Game, Arizona Foothills) that it isn't just us saying it's good.

Tradeoff: it's popular for a reason, so a marquee Sunday slate means arriving early or booking ahead if you're bringing a group. We'd rather deal with that problem than the alternative.

Social Tap

Social Tap, at 4312 N Brown Ave in Old Town, is the pick if half your group cares about the score and the other half cares about the patio. Thirty TVs, including two 90-inch screens, all the DirecTV sports packages, and a large misted patio with its own outdoor bar. The kitchen is scratch-made, which is a real thing to say about a sports bar and not just a menu buzzword, and the beer list runs sixteen local drafts deep.

What we like most is that it's two blocks from the busiest strip in Old Town but doesn't try to be a nightclub. It's genuinely chill, even on a big game day. Tradeoff: if your group actually wants high-energy chaos, this is not that bar. Keep reading.

Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row

Whiskey Row, at 4420 N Saddlebag Trail, is technically a country bar and nightclub, and if you only came here for the game, that's not really the point. But it does host watch parties, runs a stage with live music and a DJ, and gets loud and crowded during spring training season when the baseball crowd rolls through Old Town. This is where a game-day afternoon turns into a full night out: dance floor, VIP bottle service, the works.

We put it on this list because it's a legitimate option for a group that wants the game as the opening act, not the whole show. Tradeoff: it's 21+ always, and if you actually want to hear the commentary over the music, this isn't your spot.

DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale

Okay, this one's a genuine outlier, and we're including it because pretending it doesn't exist would be dishonest. DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale, at 8129 E Bell Rd, is a legal sportsbook built onto a golf course: over 3,400 square feet of video walls, 32 betting kiosks, 6 ticket windows, roughly 390 seats, and an outdoor patio with cabanas and fire pits. If your idea of watching the game includes actually having money on it, nowhere else on this list comes close.

Tradeoff: it's a drive from Old Town, the wagering lounge itself is 21+ only (though the dining and patio areas aren't), and it's closed to the public during the WM Phoenix Open. It's also a different kind of energy, more "sportsbook lounge" than "rowdy bar," so know your crowd before you book it.

Hosting Your Own Scottsdale Watch Party

Here's the thing nobody tells you about watching the game out: parking, waiting for a table, and splitting a check for twelve people is its own kind of stress. If you'd rather host the party at your place, or wherever you're staying in Scottsdale, we can build it for you. Big screen setup, catering, a stocked bar, decor that actually matches your team colors instead of looking like a dorm room. We do this for guys trips constantly and it works just as well for a birthday weekend or a corporate group that wants game day without the group-text chaos of picking a bar five people can agree on.

If that sounds better than fighting for a table at K O'Donnell's, get in touch and we'll build a plan around your group, your budget, and your team.

FAQ: Best Sports Bars in Scottsdale

What is the best sports bar in Scottsdale for a big group? K O'Donnell's and Zipps both handle large groups well because of their size and TV count, but call ahead for anything more than eight people on a marquee Sunday.

Which Scottsdale sports bar has the most TVs? K O'Donnell's, with more than 75 televisions and every major sports package.

Are Scottsdale sports bars good for watching out-of-market games? Yes, most of the bars on this list, especially K O'Donnell's and Social Tap, carry full DirecTV or ESPN+ sports packages built specifically for out-of-market NFL games.

Is there a place in Scottsdale to watch football and legally bet on the game? Yes. DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale is a full sportsbook with betting kiosks and ticket windows built right in, though the wagering lounge itself is 21+.

Can Girl About Town plan a sports watch party in Scottsdale instead of booking a bar? Yes. We plan private watch parties, guys trips, and game-day events across Scottsdale, from screen and catering setup to full-day itineraries. Reach out and tell us your team.

Football's here whether you're ready or not. Pick a bar off this list, or skip the crowd entirely and let us plan the watch party for you.