Press

Press Inquiries

Dylan Snow, Promotions Director
p: (503) 796-9364
e: press@groundkontrol.com

Ground Kontrol in the News

A selection of some of the great media coverage we’ve received over the years.

Quote Source Date
From Speakeasies to Meaderies: The 19 Best Bars in Portland, Oregon Wandering Wheatleys Sep 05, 2023
Best Gaming Bars in Portland Global Grasshopper Mar 25, 2022
5 of the best havens for nerds and geeks in Portland Daily Hive Feb 21, 2020
Gamer’s Delight – Video game-inspired cocktails find a niche at arcade-style bars. Market Watch Oct 01, 2019
Chase The High Score At The Best Arcade Bars In The Country UPROXX Sep 30, 2019
10 Barcades In America Every Gamer Needs To Visit The Travel Sep 07, 2019
5 of the Best Arcade Bars in America The Manual Jul 30, 2019
8 Awesome Arcade Bars to Bring Out Your Inner Child Chilled Magazine Apr 02, 2019
10 things you should do in Portland if you’re in town for spring break or March Madness Oregon Live Mar 25, 2019
Level Up Your Meetings in Arcade Bars Smart Meetings Mar 05, 2019
Why do so many bars have pinball and video games? Because people want more than just drinks. The Washington Post Feb 07, 2019
As Portland’s comedy scene grows, its roots at Ground Kontrol remain strong The Oregonian Nov 05, 2018
The Evolution of Arcade Bars Imbibe Magazine Jul 11, 2018
Bridging the divide — 20 things to love about our neighbor, Portland The Columbian Jun 24, 2018
4 things we learned from a tour of Ground Kontrol’s major expansion The Oregonian Jun 07, 2018
Ground Kontrol finishes expansion, doubling its square footage The Oregonian Jun 05, 2018
Our Top Five Picks for Dedicated Gaming Establishments That Also Happen to Serve Beer Willamette Week May 23, 2018
The Last Scan – Inside the desperate fight to keep old TVs alive The Verge Feb 06, 2018
The 10 Best Arcade Bars In America Game Informer Dec 30, 2017
Ground Kontrol Barcade Has a Brand New Expansion—Now With More Beer Willamette Week May 10, 2017
Ground Kontrol: The Evolution Of The Traditional Arcade (Now With Booze And Sex) destructoid.com May 07, 2017
Ground Kontrol Arcade’s Long-Awaited Expansion Now Open Portland Monthly Apr 12, 2017
Lasers, Beer, and Video Games: Here’s Ground Kontrol’s Brand-New Expansion Portland Mercury Apr 12, 2017
Ground Kontrol announces soft opening of its arcade expansion The Oregonian Apr 08, 2017
Ground Kontrol opens Fifth Avenue expansion as work begins on Couch Street The Oregonian Apr 01, 2017
Wave of nostalgia lifts Boulder-based maker of retro arcade games Daily Camera Nov 26, 2016
Inside Portland’s Competitive Pinball Scene Vice Oct 10, 2016
Arcade expansion: Portland’s Ground Kontrol will double in size, add new Star Wars Battle Pod game GeekWire Feb 18, 2016
Prepare for Ground Kontrol’s epic expansion with vintage Portland arcade photos The Oregonian Feb 18, 2016
Comedian Mike Lawrence Talks Standup, ‘Nerd of Mouth’ & Geek Culture Stage Time Jan 15, 2015
16 Things You Should Know About Priory BuzzFeed Dec 16, 2014
10 Portland Comedy Showcases Worth Seeing Willamette Week Nov 26, 2014
Buzzing Arcade Game Killer Queen Lands in Portland Willamette Week Nov 22, 2014
Portland’s 100 best bars: Bar Tab 2014 The Oregonian Oct 28, 2014
America’s Best Barcades Playboy Oct 27, 2014
Ground Kontrol’s secret arcade machine history PSU Vanguard Oct 20, 2014
13 Restaurant Bathrooms That Might Just Be Cooler than the Food Bon Appétit Oct 20, 2014
Portland Retro Gaming Expo will power up classic video games at the Oregon Convention Center The Oregonian Sep 19, 2014
Issue 42: Travel Guide – Portland, Oregon ALARM Aug 01, 2014
Keep Portland Weird Austin American-Statesman Jul 12, 2014
Game On American Way / American Airlines May 01, 2014
How to be a pinball wizard: 5 ways to up your game The Oregonian Apr 23, 2014
Portland, Ore., weekend trips for hipsters USA Today Mar 10, 2014
Comics Events Tonight: Video Games, Sadness, and Alien Landscapes Portland Mercury Dec 05, 2013
Scoop: The Year 2013, Statistically Speaking. Willamette Week Nov 24, 2013
King Of Thrones: America’s Best Restroom Is In Minneapolis NPR Nov 19, 2013
Flushing out the USA’s best public restrooms USA Today Nov 19, 2013
These Are America’s Best Public Bathrooms Fast Company Sep 16, 2013
Last-minute summer deal destinations Fox News Aug 21, 2013
Mummies, Crazy-Cool Bikes and Voodoo Donuts: 9 Reasons to Visit Portland this Summer ParentMap Magazine Jul 21, 2013
This Guy Made an Atari Version of Super Mario Bros. — And It’s Pretty Fun Wired Jul 16, 2013
Bridgetown Comedy Festival: Moments from Day 1 Willamette Week Apr 19, 2013
Review: Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade Nachos Nachonomics Apr 05, 2013
Disney Kills LucasArts, My Childhood Smithsonian Apr 04, 2013
Portland’s Restaurant Bathrooms: A Tour of the Funky and the Fabulous The Oregonian / MIX Magazine Apr 01, 2013
Parallel Worlds Bit Creature Feb 05, 2013
Rank and file ’em: New Zagat guide knows the scores Portland Business Journal Jan 14, 2013
Game over? Not in this pack, man Portland Tribune Sep 27, 2012
XOXO Fest, An Experimental Tech Conference, Gets Underway New York Times Sep 14, 2012
The Engadget Show 35: EVs in Portland, hacked bicycles and a Tesla Model S test drive Engadget Aug 28, 2012
Playing With Power Willamette Week Aug 15, 2012
Singing in the Strange Willamette Week Aug 08, 2012
Come hang with us at Ground Kontrol in Portland, OR, this Wednesday Engadget Aug 06, 2012
Portland Tested Meetup – Saturday 4/21 Tested Apr 20, 2012
The great indoors The Oregonian Jan 20, 2012
Q&A: Ernest Cline Portland Mercury Dec 15, 2011
Master Kontrol Portland Mercury Sep 24, 2011
Best of Portland 2011: Then & Now Willamette Week Jul 27, 2011
More than an arcade PSU Vanguard Jul 12, 2011
Ground Kontrol’s new take on old arcade games is perfectly Portland The Oregonian Apr 08, 2011
Ground Kontrol specializing in arcade and video games from the ‘golden age’ of gaming Oregon Live! Apr 06, 2011
Inside the New and Improved Ground Kontrol Portland Mercury Feb 17, 2011
Ground Kontrol to reboot after $200,000 face-lift Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon Feb 17, 2011
Northwest Portland: Ground Kontrol arcade to reopen Thursday with party The Oregonian Feb 15, 2011
Geek Out Portland Mercury Sep 16, 2010
Shepard Fairey DJs Tonight at Ground Kontrol Portland Mercury Jul 01, 2010
Ground Kontrol Wins $25,000 in Renovation Money Willamette Week Jun 23, 2010
Ground Kontrol Classic Barcade: Beer and Battlezone Digital Trends May 10, 2010
Best Video Game Bars In America Asylum.com Apr 30, 2010
Happy Hour of the Month Portland Monthly Apr 28, 2010
Flip City (cover story) Willamette Week Apr 14, 2010
Anamanaguchi Does Two Pre-PAX Shows At Ground Kontrol Portland Mercury Aug 30, 2009
Ground Kontrol Turns 10! (And Hey, Look! Fred Savage!) Portland Mercury Aug 25, 2009
5 Ways to Rock at Rock Band Nylon Magazine Jul 04, 2009
Neverland, Oregon American Way (American Airlines' in-flight magazine) May 07, 2009
Pinbrawl Is Forever Portland Sportsman Apr 23, 2009
Portland Plays Rock Band Button Mag Apr 18, 2009
Ground Kontrol Announces First Annual Pinbrawl Tournament Portland Mercury Apr 13, 2009
Ground Kontrol: Give your thumbs a workout at an old-school arcade Spirit (SouthWest Airlines' in-flight magazine) Apr 12, 2009
Saturday! Street Fighter! Ground Kontrol! Nihilism? Portland Mercury Feb 26, 2009
The Coolest Arcades in America Tips & Tricks Magazine Jan 07, 2009
Rock Band 2 Hits Ground Kontrol 10 Days Early Portland Mercury Aug 28, 2008
Best of the City 2008 Portland Magazine Aug 07, 2008
Is it real … or is it ‘Rock Band’? The Oregonian Jul 30, 2008
Flipping for Pinball The Oregonian Jan 24, 2008
Tonight: Rock Band Release Party at Ground Kontrol The Portland Mercury Nov 20, 2007
Fingers on the Flippers Portland Tribune Jul 10, 2007
Paging Ms. Pac-Man and our memories, too The Oregonian Mar 16, 2006
Ground Kontrol Arcade Interview gaming-media.com Mar 07, 2006
Arcade Fire! Giant Magazine Mar 01, 2006
The Last – A Classic American Game May Be on the Verge of Extinction The Portland Mercury Feb 02, 2006
Flipper Fanatics The Portland Tribune Nov 19, 2005
Insert Coins Here: The Best Video Game Spots In The U.S. Complex Magazine Aug 01, 2005
Sure Plays A Mean Pinball League The Oregonian Oct 15, 2004
PLACES – best OF PORTLAND Willamette Week Aug 04, 2004
Console Survivor The Oregonian Mar 27, 2004
Obsolete Obsession The Oregonian Jan 20, 2004
Wiggle It, That 8-Bit: Music for the Video Game Enthusiast The Portland Mercury Dec 24, 2003
The Puck Stops Here Portland Mercury Jul 31, 2003
Captivated By Retro Games Portland Business Journal Mar 10, 2000
Pinball Wizards And Witty, Too, All At Ground Kontrol Portland Business Journal Mar 10, 2000