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Looks like sports fans will have to wait even longer for a place to eat on Brighton Avenue

Boston Fireman reports a flash fire erupted shortly after midnight in the basement of the old Kells, now being turned into a Tavern in the Square sports bar. The fire, which involved polyurethane fumes, required firefighters to cut open the roof and windows - just as it looked like renovations to the place were finally nearing completion.

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Comments

Yeah, there's a real dearth of sports bar type places on that strip of Brighton Ave. :)

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Most of the places are just bars. Bars with some TVs but bars. Of course, I'm not one to consider the Tavern on the Square in Central Square much of a "sports bar" either. Places like Sports Depot, Joshua Tree, and a few others get/got the sports bar attitude right. Tons of large format TVs, plenty of sight lines for everyone at the table, multiple events showing unless something big is happening. I'm not sure what other bar in that area of Allston really fits these criteria any more now that Sports Depot closed again.

More than half of those places also probably don't do the PPV events like UFC or big fight nights.

Let me know when WBZ or WHDH runs down to Sunset Tap & Grill to cover a big playoff win.

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I was going more with the assessment that, Tavern being a "sports bar," there were not any already in the area. By actual sports bar definition, I concede to you.

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I agree with your point about the bars-with-TVs angle, but wouldn't you say that the average number of TVs per bar has jumped? Let's say you wanted to go out and you didn't want to have a TV in your field of view; the options are few, at least around there. While they don't have the sensory overload of the Sports Depot, most every bar, even the divey ones, has slid towards the end of the scale that Sports Depot once had all to itself for quite a long time.

Regarding PPV, it seemed like back in the days when things like heavyweight boxing title fights were the top-level PPV event, they used to be much more expensive to order, such that going to a bar to watch rather than paying for it yourself (or with roommates/friends etc.) was cheaper. Also, back then far fewer people had huge TV/home theater systems; Sports Depot's later incarnation (after the brief Capt. Fishbone's phase) addressed this with larger/better TVs, but still, you could see a lot of people opting to stay home and have a clear sight line to their own or a friend's mega-huge TV... and if you really want to watch a certain event, you can do so without calling on the server to change the channel on the TV nearest you, and risk the wrath of people who were watching what was already on. I agree with your point that there's no longer a center for this now that the Depot's gone, but I think the overall options to watch sports in a bar have gone up.

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I agree and that's one of the things that, in speaking with the owner of Sports Depot, was one of the reasons that it went under (both times). Before, people didn't have multiple tuners, DVR recordings, satellites, large screens, and high quality sound systems. So, if you wanted any of that...and some drafted beer, then you went to the sports bar. Now-a-days, about the one thing it provides is anonymous camaraderie with fellow local fans...which other bars can provide too.

So, I agree that the day of the "sports bar" may be ending and so Allston doesn't need all that many (especially with all of Landsdowne St and Fenway beckoning from about a mile away). I was just surprised to see someone suggest that there was a lot of them in Allston (although that semantic confusion was also cleared up in the other response above).

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Speaking of what may or may not qualify as a proper sports bar:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/allston_bright...

Officially dubbed Regina Pizzeria at the Depot, the 330-seat space at 353 Cambridge St. will look to attract former Sports Depot patrons, as well as newcomers and fans of the local pizza chain, said Christina Chmura, president of the pizza company's media relations firm.

The restaurant will feature a full, 32-seat, sports-themed bar - complete with big screen TVs.

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How'd that one slip in?

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Heh.

This is the slippery slope that folks are talking about on the Stone Hearth Pizza thread - the Sports Depot already had the full license, which was transferred to Regina's.

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Personally, I'd rather go to a place with no TVs in the first place.

If I'm going to meet friends & have a beer, the last thing I want is an idiot box flickering in every direction you can see.

Do any of the bars go after the anti-sports crowd, or are curmudgeons like me not worth marketing to?

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Never mind the presence or lack of sports bars - what's with all the fires in Allston lately? Empire Street, Farrington Avenue, the horrible fire on Chester Street just the other day (luckily only one injury, to a firefighter, but the building looks like a total loss), and now this.

Not to mention a major trash fire on Pratt Street a few months back, which was not enough to make any kind of news, but bad enough to partly kill off trees and shrubbery of two houses and to melt the vinyl siding on the front of the house.

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I haven't seen any mention of arson but yeah, the thought has crossed my mind about a few of these. That and/or on-porch bbq grills.

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I live next door to the house that was on fire on Farrington. No arsonists or anything like that. It had an electrical problem, which scares me even more since my house is older than theirs. The fire at the Tavern in the Square really sucks. I met the owner at the one in Salem and he is a really nice guy who runs his establishments well. I was looking forward to that being open soon.

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Curious if anyone knows whether Regina's bought the property or merely leased it?

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