Wildcat fans have a new downtown spot to call home

Block A Sports Bar & Grill at 345 E. Congress St. opened on Monday, Aug. 10 — some five months later than owner Grant Krueger had anticipated and little more than a week ahead of University of Arizona students returning for the school year.

The opening also comes in time for the Wildcats football team’s home-opener against Northern Arizona University on Sept. 6.

“We're excited for both the U of A students to return, and of course for the bulk of sports season to return,” said Krueger, whose Union Hospitality Group owns and operates Union Public House, Reforma Modern Mexican, Mezcal & Tequila and Proof Artisanal Pizza in St. Philip’s Plaza; and the Maverick King of Clubs country night club on East Tanque Verde Road.

“We're just a couple weeks away from football season and the college football kickoff and the NFL season, as well, so it should be perfect timing to open up a sports bar and restaurant," he said. 

U of A games will surely be on every screen in the 6,000-square-foot main restaurant, including the state-of-the-art curved 24-foot LED wall and the LED jumbotron above the bar.

Fans who choose to sit on the 3,000-square-foot patio that’s cooled with the top-of-the-line MistAmerica misting system can catch the game on the sports bar/restaurant’s outdoor 20-foot LED video wall. The patio also has automated shutters to keep the late afternoon sun at bay.

Block A has all four major sports tickets — MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL — as well as college sports packages. With the video walls, the bar can show multiple games simultaneously.

“In terms of game watching, it's going to be next level,” he said. “It'll be kind of neat to be able to host pretty much all the games on a Sunday morning simultaneously, which is pretty sweet.”

Block A’s scratch kitchen is open until midnight, serving a menu that features appetizers including chicken wings, fish tacos, loaded fries and ahi poke nachos drizzled with a siracha aioli and avocado crema; handcrafted burgers and chicken and fish sandwiches; meal-worthy salads; and Detroit-style pizza including the Wildcat with pepperoni, sausage, prosciutto, bacon and whipped ricotta.

Entrees include fish and chips, dill salmon, steak and pesto primavera.

Union Hospitality Group took over the building last October, months after Hi-Fi Kitchen & Cocktail closed in February 2025 after 11 years downtown. The restaurant group has invested $2.7 million in the project, with Rio Nuevo, the downtown redevelopment district, agreeing to reimburse up to $400,000, according to Rio Nuevo documents.

When he announced the project last November, Krueger had anticipated being open in time for March Madness. But he said they didn’t get their building permits until April.

“And it was a complicated build. There was a lot of electrical engineering with respect to putting in LED walls of this size,” he explained. “It's a big multilevel building that shares certain walls with neighbors.”

While he waited for the permits, Krueger said he worked to get Plaza Centro, where the building is at the corner of Congress and North Fourth Avenue, included in the Downtown Tucson Partnership. The plaza was built in 2012, so it was not in the Downtown Tucson Partnership boundaries established in 1998. That meant Krueger had to get the plaza’s d

ozen or so property owners to sign on.

“Every single owner had to say yes, and that yes included an increase in property taxes,” he said. “Ultimately, we were able to get all those yeses and all those check boxes.”

As of July, Block A and its neighbors are part of the partnership, which manages a 54-block downtown business improvement district, providing everything from street cleaning and safety patrols to economic development, and marketing.

Block A is downtown’s second sports bar, joining the Board Room Sports Loft & Bar that's on the second floor of Batch, 118 E. Congress St., which opened in January.

Block A is open from 3 p.m.-midnight Mondays through Wednesdays and until 2 a.m. Thursdays; and from 11 a.m. -2 a.m. Fridays-Sundays.