INDIANAPOLIS — Imagine... A sports bar for women, showcasing women's sports. Sports Bra is coming to Indianapolis.
"I think it's a great idea. The concept is great," Monique McIntyre, from Chicago, said.
"They just never put them on anywhere. I mean, that's the problem. It's just always been in the background. Now it's, it's must-see TV, right up front," women's sports fan Barb Brondyke said.
"I just remember wanting to be in the NBA, you know, from a really young age. And then when the WNBA started and when the Dream Team with Lisa Leslie and Cheryl Swoopes, and Cynthia Cooper were on TV, I was just like, that's it. This is our time now," Jenny Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Sports Bra, said.
Nguyen has always understood the reach of women's sports. But it wasn't until much later that she decided to create a space dedicated to women's leagues.
"When it came to the idea of having a space, a sports bar that was dedicated to women's sports, I didn't know that it was a novel thing until I went to go online and wonder how other ones have done. And I realized that it hadn't been done yet," Nguyen said.
Her vision opened its doors in 2022. She said one tweet saying "at the sports bra" allowed her to expand her business beyond Portland and into a franchise, now opening locations in Las Vegas, Boston, St. Louis, and right here in Indianapolis.
"Indianapolis, I mean, there's no doubt that there has been the Fever," said Nguyen. "There's always been this huge basketball fandom. You know, it's, it feels like as old as the dirt in Indiana, right? And it's homegrown, it's in the water and the Caitlin Clark effect, Aliyah Boston effect. It watered the already fertile ground, and now we're starting to see it blossom for women's sports in a way that is undeniable," she added.
Fans of women's sports are excited for a space dedicated to women's sports. A group of childhood friends traveled all the way from Iowa for Tuesday’s Fever home game.
"Any bar that you go into, and today, when we went in, they were showing baseball, and they were showing a replay of a men's game. So to be able to go in and see nothing but women's golf and women's softball — the College World Series is going on right now — to be able to see those things and not have to ask. That's awesome," Brondyke said.
A movement, Nguyen said, brings her joy to be a part of.
"Girl, Amber, I was not going to cry today. You're not going to make me cry," said Nguyen. "It is such a blessing to be part of this movement. You've heard the term, it's not a moment, it's a movement, and it really, truly is a movement. And I do think that we're at the beginning."
Nguyen said her goal is to have the Indianapolis "Sports Bra" along with the other locations up and running by the end of 2026.
