New Sports Bra Indy aims to create community

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Women’s sports fans in Indianapolis have been abuzz ever since The Sports Bra announced last month its expansion into the Circle City.

Jenny Nguyen, the founder and CEO of The Sports Bra, said she is a lifelong women’s sports fan.

“Basketball became a huge part of my identity growing up,” said the Portland, Oregon native.

Nguyen said it is especially exciting in Portland right now with the announcement this week that the Portland Fire WNBA team is returning.

“I remember sitting in the stands and watching the Portland Fire play and being like, it’s finally happening,” she said.

The team joined the league in 2000 but folded two years later.

“I remember they painted over a Portland Fire mural and it broke my heart,” she said.

Nguyen developed a friend group as an adult that loved going to local sports bars to watch women’s sports on TV.

She remembered going with the group to a spot to watch the 2018 women’s NCAA Championship game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

She said the server brought them to a corner of the restaurant with a view to what felt like the smallest TV in the room.

“The game was one of the best games I’d ever seen,” she said.

The Irish had a major comeback victory, with Arike Ogunbowale hitting the game winning shot with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. That gave the Irish their second national championship title.

“My friend said to me, ‘can you imagine if the sound was on?'” said Nguyen of their experience watching that game at the bar. “I had this reaction of anger and frustration, not only at the situation or the status quo, but at myself. Until she said that, I hadn’t realized we’d watched it with no sound because I had become accustomed to it.”

It was this experience that planted the seed for the The Sports Bra in Portland, which she said only got off the ground because of community support and crowdfunding efforts.

Nguyen said she received letters of support from neighbors to people around the world who were enthusiastic about the idea of a sports bar where only women’s sports were played on the TVs.

The Sports Bra opened in 2022 and Nguyen said it was an instant hit. The bar plays everything from the WNBA to the U.S. women’s soccer team to the college softball world series to the women’s Olympics sports.

“I hired eight people for the grand opening and we opened on April 1st for the Final Four,” she said. “Thousands of people showed up that weekend.”

And now it’s time to expand. Nguyen said their vision for franchising was people-focused, finding the right people to lead in the right cities.

One of those right cities is Indianapolis, with the right person in Eve Keller.

Keller said she grew up in several places as an Army brat, but now calls Indianapolis home.

“I love all sports,” she said. “I played basketball, I played women’s football in college, I play golf now, I’ve played volleyball.”

Keller said she put in the application to open a location here in Indiana last fall.

“We felt Eve’s connection with the community, authenticity, her experience, all those tangible things,” said Nguyen of why they picked Keller.

Keller said The Sport Bra Indianapolis will be a family-friendly establishment where people of all ages will be encouraged to come and watch women’s sports, but it’s especially important to reach young girls.

“I think what we notice is the girls looking up to Caitlin Clark and all the other women who are doing the best and not just getting attention but being a strong personality, being a confident woman,” Keller said. “I think little girls need that right now.”

Nguyen said a lot of people out there are “iso-fans,” meaning people are tuned in to women’s sports, but they are doing it by themselves through streaming. The goal of The Sports Bra is to bring those people together in person to build community, along with inspiring new fans of women’s sports.

“I liken it to going to a concert,” she said. “It is a full body experience and there’s this connectiveness that can’t be measured and when you share that same joy with so many other people surrounding you.”

“I think people are going to come to The Sports Bra constantly not just for the constant sports on TV but for the community,” said Keller.

Nguyen’s previous career was as a chef, which is why the food options at the restaurant are so important to her. She said being inclusive to all people also means for dietary restrictions as well.

The menu has vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy free options, as well as mocktails.

Keller said even if the Indiana Pacers are in the NBA finals again, they won’t air it at The Sports Bra.

“There is enough women’s sports to keep our TV’s busy,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t know that women’s soccer is 231 days out of the year.”

Now the big question: where in Indy is this place going to be?

Keller said they are still searching for the best location, but it will most likely be in the downtown area so it is easily accessible to locals and people visiting Indy.

The goal is to have it open by next spring or summer, but it could be sooner if the right opportunity comes up. She said they are currently looking for investors.

The Sports Bra will also be opening franchises in Las Vegas, St. Louis and Boston.