CLEVELAND — Three passionate women's sports fans have announced plans to open a space dedicated to women's sports year-round. The "W" Sports Bar will be the first-ever women's sports bar in Cleveland.
In April 2024, News 5 took you inside "State Champs," a coffee shop celebrating women's sports. Opened by Cassy Kopp and Ally Eclarin, the business owners tested their unique business idea in downtown Kent.
"Does Northeast Ohio like women's sports? And as you can tell, Cleveland very much does. We just had the Final Four, Tennis in the Land; very much all things women's sports in this area," said Ally Eclarin.
Seven months later, the business owners decided to shut their doors in Kent to focus on a brand new dream.
"We are opening the first ever women's sports bar in Cleveland," said Eclarin.
The "W" Sports Bar will be a partnership between Kopp, Eclarin, and fellow women's sports enthusiast Shelley Pippin from Brewnuts. Judging by women's sports watch parties already happening at Brewnuts and beyond, women's sports fans are ready for a place to call their own.
"At this exact moment, there are no active women's sports teams in Cleveland but yet we pack the rooms and all these businesses to watch women's sports teams when even the nearest team is multiple states away," said Eclarin.
Pippin said Brewnuts is going nowhere. The "W" Sports Bar will open in a separate Cleveland location, which has yet to be determined.
"We will, obviously, play every women's sports game that's on, but we will also play when the Guards are up or the Cavs are up; we are a Cleveland sports bar, but we still are a women's sports bar," said Cassy Kopp.
While The "W" is getting dreamed up, Cleveland Pro Soccer is anxiously awaiting word on their bid for a National Women's Soccer League expansion team. The bid was submitted in June, and the National Women's Soccer League expansion process is ongoing.
Cleveland Pro Soccer said it already has fans backing the team in Cleveland, "As of yesterday, we have over 15,100 season ticket pledges. So that's 15,100 people who want to show up to games regularly. This is before we have a team, before we have a stadium, before the sport is even here," said Gina Prodan Kelly, Marketing, Cleveland Pro Soccer.
Fans should know before the end of this year if a team is coming, "should we be able to bring home this NWSL team, that The "W" Sports Bar will be one of our primary locations to see games," said Prodan Kelly.
By the time a professional women's soccer team and basketball team are playing in the Land, The "W" wants to be the place to be for all the action.
The bar will serve drinks, non-alcoholic beverages, and appetizers and shareables.
"We want it to feel family friendly from the menu to the drinks, to the atmosphere, that people will just want to be here," said Eclarin.
This Saturday, Nov. 23, women's sports fans are invited to a watch party for the National Women's Soccer League Championship game between the Washington Spirit and the Orlando Pride at Brewnuts.
Soccer trivia begins at 7:30 p.m., with the watch party starting at 8 p.m. The new owners of the "W" bar want to hear from you at the event about what you would like to see in the space to come.
"Our DMS are incredible and the emails that we've been getting since we announced it yesterday. People are like, hey I do this thing, can I be involved, I want to volunteer," said Eclarin.
Eclarin continued, "We want to hear from you guys and get to know you because it's your bar as much as it's our bar."
As for an opening date for The "W," nothing has yet to be set, but the bar would like to align with the potential professional soccer and basketball teams to come to Cleveland.
"I can't wait to see women's jerseys of women's sports around Northeast Ohio, it's such a bright and exciting future," said Prodan Kelly.
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