Women’s sports bars are about to have their moment to cheer in Philadelphia

Chivonn Anderson remembers walking into a Philadelphia bar with friends to watch the U.S. women’s soccer team play the Netherlands in the finals of the 2019 World Cup.

“We basically had to argue with them to get them to put that game on,” Anderson said. “That just completely infuriated me. I was just like, ‘This is a sports bar. The United States is in the final match of the World Cup. What is going on here?’”

Six years later, Anderson — a hospitality veteran and Realtor — is preparing to open Marsha’s, a sports bar keyed to women’s sports, on the former site of the Woolly Mammoth, at 430 South St. Anderson and business partner Trish Eichelberger expect Marsha’s to debut later this summer in time for start of the Eagles’ season.

Meanwhile, four Philadelphia women’s sports fans under the name Watch Party PHL are developing what they call a “women’s sports hub,” including a bar focused on women’s games. As the Kickstarter campaign soars past its $40,000 goal, the group — led by Jen Leary, a firefighter — is searching for a location in Center City while hosting watch parties at local bars.

Marsha’s and Watch Party are joining a national movement of women’s sports bars, riding the soaring interest and viewership for the WNBA, NWSL, NCAA women’s basketball, and international women’s soccer. In 2024, for example, the NCAA women’s basketball championship game drew more viewers than the men’s final.

These sports bars, such as the Sports Bra (Portland, Ore.), Title 9 Sports Grill (Phoenix), and 1972 Women’s Sports Pub (Austin, Texas), emphasize community and safety, creating spaces where all fans — especially those historically excluded from male-dominated sports bars — feel welcome.

Anderson and Leary also see the timing as auspicious, as Philadelphia gears up for a tourism pop around the semiquincentennial and vies to become a WNBA city.

Anderson, 44, said Marsha’s concept is rooted in personal experience and professional ambition. “For me, this is kind of like my culmination,” she said. “It’s like being drafted by the WNBA or selected for the women’s national team. This is what I’ve been working toward my entire life.”

She chose a location with deep meaning. “I came out when I was 15, in the 1990s in Philly,” said Anderson, a graduate of Philadelphia High School for Girls and Temple University. “South Street was always the place I felt comfortable just being myself. So when I decided to take the next step and buy a building and liquor license, I knew it had to be here. The universe presented an opportunity to me and I knew I had to take advantage of it.”

Anderson is keeping Woolly Mammoth’s layout and has hired an interior designer to create what she describes as a “sleek and sexy” vibe. “I want it to look like a sports bar, but not like any other sports bar you’ve ever walked into,” she said.

Marsha’s programming will reflect a commitment to inclusivity and representation. The name is a tribute to Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender activist in New York who was a central figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1960s and 1970s.

Watch Party, which has no firm timetable for its opening as it is still seeking a location, formed on Twitter during the pandemic, when the WNBA played its 2020 season in a COVID-era bubble.

The online camaraderie “gave me something to look forward to when you couldn’t go out of your house and hang out with your friends,” Leary said. “When that ended, I missed that community, and when I sought out that community here in Philly, I couldn’t find it. No one was showing women’s sports.”

Leary, 47, a Northeast High graduate and a defensive back for the National Women’s Football Association’s Liberty Belles in its 2001 championship season, had organizational experience, having created Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, a since-disbanded nonprofit that rescued pets trapped in their homes after fires and other disasters.

Using social media, she enlisted bars and sports fans to attend Watch Party events at such bars as Two Locals, Dock Street, Starbolt, and Yards. Each draws several hundred people, Leary said.

“I am in the LGBTQ community, but while they are our focus, we have a huge following of straight people and guys who show up to our events,” Leary said. “We love them just the same.”

“Watch Party” is only a working name for the venue, Leary said, describing it as a coworking cafe during the day, a sports bar in the afternoon and evening, and event space with a setup for podcasters.

Joining Leary in the venture are her partner Lori Albright, longtime bartender Fawn McGee, and Megan DiTolla. The team is also in talks with investors and restaurant industry professionals.

Leary downplayed any thoughts that two women’s sports bars in the same city would compete. “There’s hundreds of men’s sports bars in the city,” she said. “Women’s sports deserve more than one.”