By Bennett Conlin Aug. 23, 2023 | SportsHandle

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The Baltimore Orioles have the second-best winning percentage in Major League Baseball, perched atop MLB‘s most competitive division. 

Still, during the early innings of Baltimore’s entertaining 5-4 win over Houston on Aug. 10, dozens of people vacated their seats in the stands to visit a restaurant without a view of the field. SuperBook Bar and Restaurant, which is found inside Camden Yards, attracted plenty of fans during the game between likely playoff participants. 

SuperBook’s location isn’t a physical sportsbook — you can’t place bets on kiosks or at a window — but information about wagering on the SuperBook Sports app is available at the restaurant. SuperBook Sports is one of a dozen mobile sportsbooks available in Maryland, and its restaurant, which is currently open only on Orioles home game days, is an enjoyable spot to visit. 

Ideal pre-game spot

I won’t go as far as advocating that fans give up their in-game field views to visit the establishment, but SuperBook Bar and Restaurant is worth visiting in the hour or two before first pitch. Indeed, pre-game tends to be the eatery’s most popular time for visitors. 

“It’s consistently very busy, and people are really enjoying that there’s a spot inside the stadium that people can go before the game,” Kristin Mackey, SuperBook Sports’ vice president of marketing, said. 

The interior setup offers sufficient seating, but it’s not overly crowded with tables. Fans have enough personal space to have their own private conversations, while also feeling like a part of the Orioles fan community. The menu is simple, and the food is respectable. I enjoyed a hamburger, which featured a jalapeño cheddar bun, and there are ample drink options. 

I avoided precipitation on my Aug. 10 visit, but I imagine the restaurant is a nice place to kill time if a game goes into a rain delay. Once games end, the facility remains open for fans to make one final game-day visit.

The only issue with visiting before a game, especially an important one drawing a big crowd, might be available seating.

“There’s been a line, which is a good and bad problem to have,” Mackey said. “We’re looking at continuing to figure out what the best way to service the guest is. Obviously this is season one and we’ve learned a lot, but that also gives us a chance to continue to improve.”

SuperBook is in the process of coming up with a plan to open for Baltimore Ravens games this fall. The hope is that the restaurant could become a gathering place for fans to watch John Harbaugh’s team fight for a playoff berth, making the space usable on more than just Orioles home dates. 

Could it become a sportsbook?

While retail sportsbooks at Nationals Park and Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., cater to adults, you can take your family to the SuperBook Bar & Restaurant. Unlike those other sportsbook venues, the SuperBook Bar and Restaurant doesn’t overwhelm you with betting options. 

The tables include QR codes and instructions to download the SuperBook Sports app, but it’s still a sports bar rather than a sportsbook. Despite Maryland legislation allowing for retail sportsbooks at ballparks, there are no immediate plans to turn the SuperBook Bar and Restaurant into one. 

“We just haven’t seen the need for that,” Mackey said. “I think that people are getting a great sportsbook experience with a sports-bar atmosphere and they can take it in with all of their friends and family and not just be limited to a retail sportsbook.”