Oregon's Sports Bra, a pub for women's sports fans, plans national expansion as interest booms

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — On a recent weeknight at this bar in northeast Portland, fans downed pints and burgers as college women's lacrosse and beach volleyball matches played on big-screen TVs. Memorabilia autographed by female athletes covered the walls, with a painting of U.S. soccer legend Abby Wambach mounted above the chalkboard beer menu.

The Sports Bra is a pub where women's sports are celebrated — and the only thing on TV.

Packed and buzzing with activity, the bar has successfully tapped into a meteoric rise of interest in women's sports, embodied most recently by the frenzy over University of Iowa basketball phenomenon Caitlin Clark's records-smashing feats.

Just two years after opening, the bar announced plans this week to go nationwide through a franchise model.

“Things have happened at light speed compared to what my forecast was,” founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen told The Associated Press. “This tiny spot that I built for my friends and I to watch games and give female athletes their flowers means so much more. And not just to me, but to a lot of people.”

Under the plan, bars and entrepreneurs elsewhere will be able to apply to use The Sports Bra brand for their franchises. Nguyen is open to working with people who already have a physical space, as well as those who may only have a business plan. What matters, she said, is that the potential future partners share The Sports Bra’s values.

One aspiring partner is Jackie Reau, who hopes to open a franchise in Cincinnati, where she works as the CEO of a media and marketing agency. During an interview at The Sports Bra, where she happily watched her college women's lacrosse team on one of the TV sets, she said such establishments “celebrate women’s sports and the champions and the athletes behind the story.”

“It’s exciting to see it grow and gain such popularity,” Reau said of the bar. “It’s just such a moment right now for women’s sports.”

The expansion will be boosted by funding from a foundation created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams. Nguyen said she already has received hundreds of inquiries.

Interest in women's sports is at an all-time high, helped by Clark's exploits this year, when she shattered all-time NCAA scoring records for women and men. The championship game between Iowa and South Carolina on April 7 drew 18.9 million viewers on average, surpassing the audience for the men’s title match for the first time.

A week later a record 2.45 million viewers on average tuned in to the WNBA draft to watch as Clark went to the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 pick. This week it was reported that she was set to sign a $28 million deal with Nike that would be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player.

The rise in interest is not just for women's basketball, but other sports as well. The 2023 Women’s World Cup reported record attendance with nearly 2 million fans. A University of Nebraska volleyball game played in a football stadium drew more than 92,000 people last August, a world record for largest attendance at a women’s sporting event.

“It’s sort of in this pinnacle moment where eyeballs are plentiful,” said Lauren Anderson, director of the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the University of Oregon. “It’s just been an alignment of many things that has created this incredible moment for women’s sports that seems to be more than just a flash in the pan.”

As the fan base and engagement grow, so too does the appetite for changing a sports bar culture that has traditionally catered to men's athletics. Other establishments like The Sports Bra have recently opened elsewhere: A Bar of Their Own began operating in Minneapolis earlier this year, and Seattle's Rough & Tumble launched in late 2022.

Sports bars have not always been welcome spaces for women, Nguyen said. A fan since childhood, she would gather groups of friends to go because she didn't feel safe going by herself. She recalled encountering macho environments that made her uncomfortable, and bartenders who refused to change the channel to a women's game.

“That was just what we settled with,” she said. “When I wanted to push back and kind of flip the status quo, that's when I really started to dig in on how The Sports Bra could matter and change the narrative on sports bars.”

One memory in particular stands out for Nguyen from her time as proprietor: Serena Williams' last match, in 2022. A massive crowd showed up to watch, spilling over onto the the sidewalk. People outside cupped their eyes with their hands as they peered through the windows to see the screens.

“When Serena would score a point, I swear to God, I thought the glass was going to shatter. My eyeballs were rattling inside my head,” Nguyen said. “And then when they were volleying, I feel like you could hear a burger flip in the kitchen.”

Toward the end, she felt tears welling up. She passed two tissue boxes around for similarly weepy customers as everyone reveled in Williams' last minutes on the court.

“I remember taking a deep breath and thinking, ‘I don’t know if there’s a single place on the face of the planet that is having this exact moment,’” Nguyen said. “It was amazing.”

Fans can still find it challenging to watch women's sports games, because many are not broadcast on TV and require different streaming subscriptions, said Tarlan Chahardovali, an assistant professor in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Sport and Entertainment Management.

Women's sports bars can be a reliable go-to for many events by having those subscriptions. But more broadly, Chahardovali said, much work remains to be done to ensure the media market doesn’t undervalue women’s sports.

“Today’s numbers are hard to ignore, and I think it’s a very exciting time,” she said. “But it’s a moment that needs to be maintained and sustained, and it needs continuous investment.”

The Sports Bra founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen looks towards the door as a customer enters at the sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A customer looks at sports memorabilia at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A piece of tape displays a thank you message above a pass-through window at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Bartender M.J. Jones looks to the drinks menu while serving a customer at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

As a Caitlin Clark jersey is displayed in the background, customers eat and watch college women's lacrosse and beach volleyball matches at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Interest in women's sports is at an all-time high, helped by Clark's exploits this year, when she shattered all-time NCAA scoring records for both women and men. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

The Sports Bra founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen laughs during an interview with the Associated Press at the sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A roller derby match is played on a TV next to a decorated basketball hoop at The Sports Bra sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Allison Clarke, center, places menus down for customers as a patron at right takes a photo of a decorated basketball hoop at The Sports Bra sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Chef Alex Preciado walks down the steps to the basement to get something for the sports bar while working at The Sports Bra on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The steps are under a counter in the kitchen. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A college women's lacrosse match is shown on a big-screen TV above a chalkboard drink menu lit with multi-colored lights at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A customer leaves The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The sports bar, which focuses on and shows only women's athletics, has plans to expand across the country through a franchise model. The Sports Bra opened two years ago in Portland, the state's largest city. Its founder and CEO says she has already fielded hundreds of inquiries from potential partners. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

With a rainbow mustache drawn on a porthole door connecting the kitchen and bar, patrons watch a beach volleyball match on big-screen TV at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Jackie Reau speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The sports bar plans to expand across the country through a franchise model. Reau, an aspiring partner, hopes to open a franchise in Cincinnati, where she works as the CEO of a media and marketing agency. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Employee Allison Clarke works at The Sports Bra sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

An image depicting tennis legend Billie Jean King is displayed at The Sports Bra sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Bartender M.J. Jones, left, and fellow employee Allison Clarke, right, react as an interview with The Sports Bra founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen, center, airs on a screen during their shift at the sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A painting of U.S. soccer legend Abby Wambach is mounted above the chalkboard beer menu. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Autographs from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and professional basketball player Nneka Ogwumike are seen on the wall at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Ogwumike now plays for the Seattle Storm. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

The Sports Bra founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen poses for a photo at the sports bar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Customers eat and watch college women's lacrosse and beach volleyball matches on big-screen TVs at The Sports Bra sports bar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces unleashed a nighttime barrage of more than 50 cruise missiles and explosive drones at Ukraine’s power grid Wednesday, targeting a wide area in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “massive” attack.

The bombardment blasted targets in seven Ukrainian regions, including the Kyiv area and parts of the south and west, damaging homes and the country's rail network, authorities said. Three people, including an 8-year-old girl, were injured, according to officials.

Russia has repeatedly pounded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war that is stretching into its third year and has claimed thousands of lives. By taking out the power, the Kremlin’s forces aim to rob Ukrainian manufacturing of its energy supply, especially military plants, and crush public morale.

The mass barrages also drain Ukrainian air defenses of ammunition as Kyiv’s depleted forces await delivery of the latest batch of promised Western military support. Ukrainian officials have been pleading for more NATO-standard air defense systems, such as Patriots.

Russia pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the “blackout winter” of 2022-23. In March, it launched a new wave of attacks, one of which completely destroyed the Trypilska power plant near Kyiv, one of the country’s biggest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed the attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian attack hit an oil terminal, injuring five workers and starting a fire, Russia-appointed authorities in the partially occupied Luhansk region said.

Russian bombardments, though frequent, have become less regular in recent weeks, and Ukrainian officials suspect Moscow is stockpiling resources ahead of a major battlefield offensive that could come within weeks.

The 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has changed little since the early months of the war, but Russia has recently made small but steady gains in some areas as Ukraine battles with a lack of manpower and a shortage of weapons.

In a social media post, Zelenskyy noted that Wednesday’s attacks occurred on the day that Ukraine observes the end of European fighting in World War II and equated Ukraine's current struggle with that conflict.

National electrical grid operator Ukrenergo said facilities were hit in the Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Two energy facilities were hit in the Lviv region, which is in the country’s far west and distant from the fighting’s front lines, according to regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi.

DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy supplier, said the attack “seriously damaged” equipment at three of its thermal power plants.

The attack was the fifth in the last six weeks targeting the company’s facilities, DTEK said. Overall, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the company’s assets have come under attack nearly 180 times, injuring 51 workers and killing three, it said.

Russia launched 55 missiles and 21 Shahed drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defenses downed 39 of the missiles and 20 of the drones, Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.

Russian forces also damaged the railway station building and train tracks in Kherson, national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A woman walks in front of a crater caused by a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Flames burn in a crater following a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Ukrainian servicemen turn over a damaged car at the scene of a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

A man looks at the debris of a car following a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Police experts inspect the site of a Russian missile attack, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, rescuers work at a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP Photo)