Dave Betancourt | Sports Section Manager

When entering a sports bar, the average customer gets everything they need to give them the perfect sports environment. There are televisions everywhere with various games on the screens. Tables are filled with groups of friends socializing about the athletic events seen on the screens in front of them. The sound of beer foaming out of the tap and filled mugs sliding across wooden bar tables can be heard as frequently as the sound of billiards banging against each other on pool tables.

At Riley's sports bar in downtown Radford, the management wants to get away from the average sports bar image but at the same time, provide an environment that will keep the sports bar junkie coming back. Whether it's the atmosphere or gimmicks, the crowd at Riley's keeps coming back as it remains one of the most steady businesses on Norwood Street.

Alcohol is obviously the number one draw to any bar, but there still needs to be something that is going to make the customers come back. At Riley's they try to make the atmosphere appealing to not only sports hungry males, but females as well.

"We try to make sure that the girls are going to be entertained as well. If there's a really big sporting event on then yeah, we'll have that on the television screens, but if the girls say they want to watch something we'll put it on. Sometimes we try to stay away from the whole sports bar thing and just have a nice coed atmosphere. The guys get a little mad sometimes, but if they want girls coming into the bar, they have to sacrifice a little," says bar manager Bruce Bailey.

But just in case there are groups of people who might not want anything but sports on the tube and aren't in the mood for anything else, there are other things to grab their attention. The main distraction are the pool tables which are located in the back corner of the bar and a "mug club."

"The mug club is pretty popular. People can come in here, sign up for the mug club and then they'll have their own mug here waiting for them at the bar. We have a lot of people whose mugs are always here waiting for them," said Bailey.

Of course there is always a certain group to go after when you are trying to have a successful business. For Riley's this is the college crowd.

"We definitely go after the college crowd, ages 21-30," said Bailey.

However, just because the age requirement is met doesn't mean you will be granted access into Riley's doors. There is a dress code that all people must adhere to for granted access. It's nothing difficult but if not followed you'll be kindly asked to leave. Men are required to wear collard shirts with long pants. Women are asked to dress a nod above casual. Dresses aren't required but a nice pair of paints and a blouse will do on most occasions.

"I went in there, had on a nice pair of pants and shirt, but my shirt didn"t have a collar and they made me leave," said RU senior Josh Amos.

Overall, Riley's success is attained by providing a comfortable atmosphere to RU students with a level of consistency that is liked by all.