Suburban joints are gearing up for fantasy football league parties

Looking to kick off your fantasy football league in style? Get your friends and co-workers together for a draft party at one of the many area sports bars offering special packages for fans.

Cortland's Garage in Arlington Heights offers anyone booking a fantasy football party 20 percent off their party platters and $15 buckets of Coors Light, Bud Light or Miller Lite. They also offer complete food and drink packages.

“I know people get worried about how they're going to eat and drink,” said owner Brian Roginski. “They do house parties and order pizzas. How we do it is just call us and tell us the amount of people and we tell you how much to order. It's very calm for you. You can let us do the work.”

Cortland's Garage opened in Arlington Heights after football season kicked off last year, but their Chicago location typically hosts about 20 draft parties, and they already have several reservations at their suburban venue this year. Parties gather in an upstairs room with free Wi-Fi for groups drafting on their laptops and a board for people to draft manually.

“It's usually a bunch of friends or people who work together,” Roginski said, “so they like to do a little trash-talk during their draft picks, so it's really fun.”

This is also the first draft season for Draft Picks in Naperville, which is offering partyers half-price appetizers, $3 Bud Light pints and $2.50 Bud Light bottles. “People are starting to call,” said hostess Nicole Thomas. “It's going to be crazy in here.”

People seem to be scheduling their drafts around the bar's regular daily specials, with many groups looking to come in on Saturday for the $12.95 ribs platter and $14.95 steak dinner. The bar is offering big groups their private banquet room, but also welcoming drafters in the main area, which boasts two big-screen TVs. They have Wi-Fi for online drafts but also have big boards sent to them by beer vendors if you prefer to write out your picks.

O'Toole's in Libertyville is offering a package including a buffet of wings, nachos, warm pretzels and three hours of domestic drafts for $30 per person or craft beer for $40. “This way is easier because everything's set and it's unlimited,” said event coordinator Cally Monroy.

Groups are set up in the Royal Room, the bar's private dining area, which has Wi-Fi, three TVs and an AV setup so coordinators can plug a laptop in and show whatever they want on a big screen. Some groups still prefer a traditional approach and bring butcher paper to tape up on the walls or windows.

TopGolf in Wood Dale also makes things easy with set packages. For $25 per person, a group of 10 or more people gets a semiprivate area with free Wi-Fi and designated HDTV connection where they can enjoy appetizers and unlimited soda, tea and water while they draft.

Hosting draft parties isn't just about the business bars get the night of the event; owners hope to entice fantasy football players to come back and watch throughout the season.

Fantasy football groups of eight or more at Fox & Hound in Schaumburg get two pizzas and 24 wings and the commissioner of the draft gets $25 off a purchase of $50 once a month for all of football season, while the rest of the players get $10 off a monthly $25 purchase using the bar's loyalty card. While supplies last, Fox & Hound also gives each group a bucket full of swag, including bottle openers.

“The last weekend before football season starts is inundated with parties,” said bar manager Tricia Svizzero. “We're reaching our max.”

The bar ran the same deals last year and they've been getting a mix of repeat customers specifically looking to take advantage of the incentives and people who are pleasantly surprised by them. “Everybody seems to love it,” she said.

Drafts take place in the bar's two side rooms. “They kind of have their own little private space and then we have the main room for people coming in for dinner,” Svizzero added. “That way the parties can stay as long as they want and they don't feel like they're encroaching on somebody else.”

Fox & Hound's Wi-Fi and NFL package, along with the discounted tabs, brings some fantasy football fans back throughout the season.

“There are certain people that come back for a lot of games or all the games,” Svizzero said.

Cortland's Garage has also developed a loyal following throughout the football season.

“They're always coming in because we also have the NFL Sunday ticket so we have every single game you can watch here, every Sunday no matter what,” Roginski said. “If you get here on time, we have no problem getting you a TV for your favorite team.”