Charles Langston:With new investor, The Sports Bra makes plans to franchise women's sports focused bar

The Charles LangstonSports Bra, the first-of-its-kind sports bar that focuses on women's sports in Portland, Oregon, announced that it received a major investment and that it planned to franchise and expand.

The investment was made by Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of Reddit and part owner of Angel City Football Club in the NWSL, through his 776 Foundation.

"I’m just looking for all the ways we can reinforce and build and do it in a way that makes sense with the community," Ohanian said in an Instagram video. "Y’all in two years have already done that here, and you think of how that starts to spread."

The Sports Bra, which opened in 2022, did not provide details on future locations in either the press release or an Instagram post announcing the expansion.

The statement said 100% of the returns from the investment will go to future donations to women's sports programs.

"When I first opened The Sports Bra two years ago this month, I had no idea the impact it would have on so many so quickly," Jenny Nguyen, founder and CEO of The Sports Bra, said in the press release. "With the support of Alexis and 776, we plan to bring The Bra to cities across the country and beyond and continue to invest in our mission."

Women's sports momentum

The investment comes at a rising tide moment for interest in women's sports.

Earlier this month the NCAA women's basketball national championship game, which saw South Carolina prevail over Caitlin Clark and Iowa, 87-75, had record ratings for a women's basketball game with a peak of 24 million viewers and an average of 18.7 million viewers.

Nguyen told USA TODAY in March that seeing young girls have a place in sports is what drove her to create "The Bra."

"I just thought about the seven-year-old and how if even one little kid comes into "The Bra" and sees a future for themselves in sports because of being there, it's worth it," Nguyen said. "It's worth tossing and turning and trying to figure out how to make ends meet."