For years, women’s sports fans built their own spaces. Their own watch parties. Their own communities. Their own traditions.
Now those spaces are becoming institutions.
This July, Unrivaled will become the first league sponsor of The Sports Bra’s annual Pride Block Party, marking the first partnership between the league and the Portland-based sports bar ahead of the event’s fifth year. The collaboration arrives at a moment when women’s sports continue experiencing unprecedented growth, while the spaces built around those sports are becoming just as important as the games themselves.
Founded by Jenny Nguyen in 2022, The Sports Bra opened as the first sports bar dedicated entirely to women’s sports. What began as a single neighborhood business in Portland has evolved into a national brand, with multiple franchise locations already in development and plans for significant expansion over the next decade.
The annual Pride Block Party has become an extension of that mission.
Taking place July 19 alongside Portland Pride weekend, the event will feature live performances, DJ sets, street games, fitness challenges, local vendors, community organizations, and fan activations throughout Northeast Portland. A portion of proceeds will support New Avenues for Youth’s Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Resource Center, which provides safe and affirming resources for LGBTQ+ youth throughout the region.
The partnership with Unrivaled feels particularly significant because it represents more than sponsorship. It reflects a growing understanding that women’s sports culture is being built not only inside arenas, but inside restaurants, bars, community spaces, and events where fans gather long after games end.
Women’s sports have experienced remarkable growth in recent years. Television audiences have reached record highs, attendance continues to increase across multiple leagues, and investment in women’s sports has accelerated dramatically. New leagues, expanded media coverage, and increased brand partnerships have all contributed to that momentum.
At the same time, spaces dedicated specifically to women’s sports have become increasingly important gathering places.
On game nights at The Sports Bra, tables often fill before tipoff. Jerseys representing women’s teams line the walls. Conversations move between basketball, soccer, softball, and hockey while televisions that once ignored women’s sports become the center of attention. The atmosphere feels less like an alternative sports experience and more like a glimpse of where sports culture is heading.
That makes the partnership with Unrivaled feel particularly aligned.
Both organizations are investing in community as much as competition. Both are building spaces centered around visibility, belonging, and connection. And both represent a larger shift happening across women’s sports, where success is increasingly measured not only by ratings and attendance but also by the communities forming around the games themselves.
The July block party will include an Unrivaled activation space and fan experiences throughout the day, but the larger story extends beyond one event.
The Sports Bra continues expanding nationally. Unrivaled is entering its next phase as a league. Together, the partnership offers a glimpse at how the future of women’s sports may continue to grow through local spaces, neighborhood communities, and experiences that bring fans together.
The event takes place on July 19, but the momentum surrounding it is already larger than a single day in Portland.
As women’s sports continue expanding nationally, partnerships like this suggest that the next generation of sports culture may be built as much on community as competition.
