The Sporting Globe will open at Knox Ozone in August

It’s been two years in the making, but the wait is almost over for Knox Ozone’s latest watering hole. A three-level beer barn with room for 600 people will offer 16 ales on tap and will have one of the largest rooftop gardens in Melbourne’s outer east.

The Sporting Globe chief executive James Sinclair is excited to open a new venue in Knox.

Sports fans are in for a treat with plans for a new three-level bar in Wantirna South, including 16 beers on tap, three mega screens and what’s believed to be the largest rooftop beer garden in the area.

The Sporting Globe is expected to be open at Knox Ozone by August, in the old Dragon Boat restaurant site.

The Sporting Globe chief executive James Sinclair said they were excited to open in Knox.

“I grew up in the eastern suburbs and founded the brand 10 years ago after visiting the states and falling in love with sports bars,” Mr Sinclair said.

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“I used to work within Knox Ozone, I know the area really well and I think it will be well received and I’m excited to bring the brand to the Knox community.”

There are now 13 Sporting Globes around the country, and Mr Sinclair said they were family-friendly, with a big dining focus, and had great entertainment spaces.

He said the ground floor in the new Knox venue would include a large island bar and family dining restaurant, and private booths with touchscreen TVs, where people could watch sport, browse the internet, and play games.

The Sporting Globe will open in Knox Ozone in August. Photo: Daniel Pockett

The second level will feature a large function space for events.

“The third level will be the largest rooftop beer garden we believe in the municipality which will overlook the Ozone and have views out to the Dandenongs behind,” Mr Sinclair said.

“That will be a real feature space with its own bar and dining upstairs.”

A jumbotron, with four screens allowing people on each side to watch sporting action, will hang in the middle of the venue.

The venue will have a capacity of about 600 patrons.

Mr Sinclair said more than 50km of cabling would be used in construction to power more than 50 screens that will be installed throughout the venue.

There will also be three 7m mega screens that will be featured throughout the venue.

Mr Sinclair said they expected to hire about 60-70 staff, most from the local area.

They will also serve tank beer, with huge copper vats of beer positioned in the bar.

“Carlton Draft will brew the beer fresh and deliver it in big trucks and pump it straight into the tanks fresh,” Mr Sinclair said.

“It’s unpasteurised beer which is really unique, it’s the freshest beer available in the market.”

Mr Sinclair said they planned to be open by August, in time for the AFL and NRL finals in September.

In a statement, Westfield Knox owners Scentre Group said The Sporting Globe would be a venue the whole family could enjoy.

But when asked about the much-anticipated future expansion of the shopping centre, Scentre Group said it was “too early to confirm any further details at this stage”.