Jay-Z temporarily recreated his iconic 40/40 Club for Michael Rubin's Fanatics Fest NYC this weekend (August 16-18) at the Jacob Javits Center, but it looks like that's not all he will do to revitalize the sports club chain. Moreover, an Us Weekly report claims that he will reopen the legendary venue in the Big Apple very soon. For those unaware, the original 40/40 Club in Manhattan closed in August of last year after a 20-year run. Hov once had five locations nationwide, but after their closure, the only active 40/40 brand locations at press time are an Atlanta airport bar and a Barclays Center restaurant in Brooklyn.
"It’s always been the plan to open a new spot,” 40/40 Club's vice president of operations, Sheldon Robinson, told the publication. “Finding the right location that makes sense to the brand is key, and that takes some time. We’ve narrowed it down to our last few choices and now we’re in the negotiation phase. Hopefully by the end of this year we’ll have a lease signed and we can break ground. The idea is that we’ll have a club in 2025." Robinson also pointed to Jay-Z's strong involvement in this process, adding that Hov "definitely wants to keep it as part of his legacy."
Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz At 40/40 Club's 18th Anniversary
In other Jay-Z news, Oscar De La Hoya recently re-told the story of when the New York lyricist lost a six-figure bet to him. "So we’re promoting Canelo at the time, Golden Boy, and [Jay-Z’s] promoting Cotto," the boxing legend told Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay. "So I said, 'You know what? Why don’t place a bet here of $250,000? But it goes to charity.' So Canelo wins, my charity wins the two-fifths, and sure enough he paid it on the spot. I think the next day, the check was in the bank. Jay-Z loves boxing, he knows his boxing. But he’s a guy who pays his bets."
Meanwhile, another big storyline in Jay-Z's world these days concerns what will happen to Dame Dash's Reasonable Doubt shares. Dame is pretty peeved about Jay eventually getting those shares back in a couple of years. Things could change, but when it comes to cash, Hov is about his business. We'll see if these new assets include a brand new 40/40 Club in the future.