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Sports Meets Hospitality at Honorable Mention, Damian Lillard’s New Portland Hot Spot
Damian Lillard and Urban Restaurant Group debut Honorable Mention, Portland’s first luxury sports lounge where sports, hospitality, and community collide.
- By: Julianne Elise Beffa
On Monday night, a crowd of media, tastemakers, and hospitality insiders gathered inside Portland’s historic The Benson Hotel for a first look at Honorable Mention, a new luxury sports lounge that is already signaling a shift in how fans experience sports culture off the field. The project comes from Urban Restaurant Group in partnership with Portland icon Damian Lillard and a group of local business leaders including JR Duperrier, Dr. William Johnson, David Lucas, and Mark Byrum. The preview event offered an early look at what the team describes as Portland’s first true luxury sports lounge, a concept that blends elevated hospitality with the energy and storytelling of athletics.
Set within the former London Grill space at the Benson, Honorable Mention immediately distinguishes itself from the traditional sports bar format. Instead of rows of televisions and crowded high tops, the venue leans into Victorian-inspired elegance paired with a modern open-concept layout. Curated local artwork lines the walls, sightlines are carefully designed so every seat captures the action, and intimate lounge areas create spaces for conversation as easily as game day celebrations. The result feels less like a bar built around a screen and more like a social clubhouse where sports culture is the connective thread.
The culinary program, led by Chef Bobby Brown, mirrors that philosophy. Elevated shareable plates anchor the menu, offering refined takes on familiar sports lounge staples alongside bolder flavors designed for groups and long nights. The beverage program follows suit with a curated lineup of signature cocktails and premium pours that emphasize quality and experience over volume. Together, the food and drink reinforce the larger idea behind Honorable Mention. This is a venue built for gathering, storytelling, and celebration as much as it is for watching the game.
The Bar
For Damian Lillard, the project carries a deeper meaning tied to the city he has called home for years. “Portland is my home,” Lillard shared. “When I think about helping build this city back up to what made me and many others fall in love with it, I know that starts with presenting people who come here with an experience we can all share. Fellowship, fun, good food, and safety. I look forward to building on this as we continue to lift Portland back to what it once was.”
Fellowship, fun, good food, and safety. I look forward to building on this as we continue to lift Portland back to what it once was.
Honorable Mention also carries a strong historical and cultural component that sets it apart from many athlete-backed hospitality ventures. The concept serves as a tribute to athletic excellence across race, gender, and culture while highlighting pioneers and barrier breakers whose achievements helped shape modern sports. The name itself nods to the first Black athletes from Ivy League institutions whose perseverance helped expand opportunities in collegiate athletics and paved the way for future generations. It is a thoughtful layer of storytelling that gives the venue a sense of purpose beyond simply serving drinks during the playoffs.
The project is also deeply rooted in Portland’s business and community landscape through the involvement of local leaders including JR Duperrier. His role as a partner reflects a broader vision for the space that goes beyond hospitality alone. “Honorable Mention shines a light on the city’s deep love for sport while honoring its historical roots,” Duperrier said during the opening. “This space is for the community, and it’s a win for Portland.”
This space is for the community, and it’s a win for Portland.
The Venue
The opening of Honorable Mention arrives at a moment when sports and hospitality are becoming increasingly intertwined. Across the United States, a growing number of venues are blending athletic culture with elevated dining, nightlife, and social experiences. Industry data shows that experiential sports driven hospitality concepts have grown more than 30 percent over the past five years as younger audiences look for environments that combine entertainment, community, and design. The traditional sports bar is slowly giving way to spaces that feel closer to lifestyle clubs or cultural hubs.
Examples of this trend are appearing in cities from New York to Scottsdale. Tennis themed restaurant concepts like 40 Love have drawn national attention by pairing high energy dining with a social club atmosphere centered around sport. Meanwhile lifestyle brands such as Kith have helped push sports culture into the fashion and hospitality worlds through projects like their Kith Ivy concept. Golf simulators, pickleball clubs, basketball themed lounges, and athlete backed restaurants are rapidly expanding the category, transforming how fans engage with sports when they are not inside the arena.
The Star
Honorable Mention fits naturally within this larger movement but adds a distinctly Portland perspective. The city has long held a passionate sports community anchored by basketball, soccer, and a deep appreciation for athletic culture. By bringing together design, food, storytelling, and community focused ownership, the venue offers a new gathering space that reflects the city’s evolving identity.
During Monday’s preview event, that vision was already clear. Guests moved between lounge areas sampling cocktails and shareable dishes while conversations about sports, business, and Portland’s future filled the room. The energy felt polished but welcoming, the kind of atmosphere that invites people to stay longer than planned. In many ways it captured exactly what the team behind Honorable Mention hopes to create on a nightly basis.
As sports culture continues to expand beyond stadiums and arenas, venues like this are redefining what it means to be a fan. The modern sports gathering space is no longer only about watching the score. It is about community, experience, and a sense of belonging that lives both on and off the field. With Honorable Mention now open inside the Benson Hotel, Portland has a new place where those worlds come together.
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Nightlife + Dining
Amanda Coscarelli
