The Basketball Social House: Topgolf-Style Hoops in Denver

The concept is pretty straightforward once you see it: take the Topgolf model — reserved bays, food and drinks brought to you, a social atmosphere that works whether you're competitive or just hanging out — and apply it to basketball. It sounds like an obvious idea in retrospect, but nobody was really doing it at this scale before Jimmy Bemis and Matt Barnett opened this place in late 2022.

It's about 20 minutes south of Denver in Centennial, so plan accordingly if you're coming from Capitol Hill or Five Points. The drive is easy, parking is not an issue, and the venue itself is 22,000 square feet, which means it doesn't feel cramped even when there's a crowd.

The Basketball Social House

The courts are the main draw, obviously, but what makes this place work is everything around them. You reserve your court ahead of time, which takes the guesswork out of it — no showing up and waiting around hoping something opens up. That alone makes it worth doing differently than a standard gym or rec center.

The food is legitimately good, and I don't say that lightly when it comes to sports venues. Most places like this treat the menu as an afterthought. The Basketball Social House is running what I'd describe as restaurant-quality food, which is not what you expect when you're also shooting hoops. On price, food quality, and service, it compares favorably to Topgolf — and if you've been to Topgolf, you know the bill can get away from you fast. This place is more reasonable.

The bar is solid, the TVs are there for NBA and college games if you want to post up and watch instead of play, and the overall vibe is relaxed enough that it works for a range of crowds. I've seen families in there with kids, groups of guys doing a guys' night, and people who clearly just wandered in to watch a game and eat. It handles all of those situations without feeling like it's trying too hard to be everything.

One thing worth mentioning for anyone who doesn't follow basketball closely or doesn't consider themselves athletic: you don't need to be good at basketball to have a good time here. The format is forgiving. You're in your own reserved space, the pressure is low, and the whole setup is more social than competitive. Kids especially seem to have a blast — it's genuinely family-friendly in a way that a lot of bar-adjacent venues are not.

The founders built something here that fills a real gap. Denver has no shortage of things to do, but "brand new category of venue that's well-executed on its first try" is a shorter list. The Basketball Social House landed on it.

If you're planning a visit, reserving a court in advance is the move. Walk-ins might work on a slow weekday, but for weekends or evenings you'll want a reservation locked in before you drive down to Centennial.

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A few practical things to keep in mind before you go: this is in the suburbs, not Denver proper, so it's not a quick Uber from downtown. Build in the drive time. The 20-minute estimate from central Denver is reasonable on a normal day, more if you're hitting 25 during rush hour.

The 22,000 square feet sounds like a lot, and it is — the place has room to breathe. Courts, bar, dining area, it all coexists without feeling like you're eating in a gymnasium. The design work clearly went into making sure those elements don't fight each other.

What Jimmy Bemis and Matt Barnett put together here is the kind of concept that makes you wonder why it didn't exist before. Sports-as-entertainment venues have been popular for a while, but basketball specifically didn't have a flagship version of this until now, at least not in Denver. For a city that cares as much about basketball as Denver does — the Nuggets have made this a real basketball town over the past few years — it's a pretty natural fit.

If you're looking for something to do with a group that isn't another rooftop bar or another axe-throwing place, The Basketball Social House is worth the drive south. The food alone makes it a step above most activity-based venues, and the basketball setup is fun whether you're running real drills or just goofing around with friends.

I'll be going back. That's about the simplest way I can say it. When a place opens in late 2022 and it's still consistently on my list of things to recommend to people in 2023 and beyond, that's a good sign. Not everything new in Denver earns a second visit. This one did.