During the WNBA season, bars and restaurants say they have seen greater customer demand for women’s sports

CHICAGO (AP) Josh Pehlke remembers just a number of years ago when he needed to beg and beg at bars and restaurants to point out WNBA games. Too often the answer was a categorical no.

Nowadays he doesn’t have to fret a lot.

As general manager of Signature Bar & Restaurant in Chicago’s South Loop, he has something to say about the three-point shot from the home of the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena. But even when he is not at work, he’s noticed a difference.

“I went to Cubs games this season, went to sports bars in Wrigleyville and found the WNBA on TV, whereas two or three years ago that wasn’t happening,” Pehlke said.

The WNBA drew sellout crowds and unprecedented rankings in a breakthrough season that ends with the final match between the New York Liberty, fighting for its first title, and the Minnesota Lynx, which takes a record fifth place. The best-of-three series began Thursday when Minnesota defeated New York in additional time.

Whether it was Caitlin Clark from Indiana or Angel Reese from Chicago, putting on a spirited competition from universities to professionals, Simone Biles wins more gold at the Olympic Games or 92,003 fans packed a football stadium in Nebraska for a volleyball gameoverall, women’s sports are attracting more attention.

Sports bars and restaurants are taking note, adapting their marketing and menus to draw a wider range of shoppers. At least some say they see an increased demand for women’s sports on TV, although the evidence is more anecdotal than statistical. In recent years, several catering facilities have opened specifically for women’s sports, similar to Sports bra in Portland, Oregon.

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Either way, fans have a selection if they wish to grab a bite to eat, drink and watch the game away from home.

“You’ll see small groups of women coming out to watch sports,” said Brian Wright, general manager of Bar Louie. “You see a lot of men now asking to play women’s sports. So this is a kind of paradigm shift in the way women’s sports are perceived. Very rarely did you see a group of men asking, “Can you turn on this WNBA game?” Now it’s really becoming commonplace.”

Bar Louie has restaurants in 21 states from coast to coast and as many as 20 TVs in each location. As for what number of persons are suited to a selected sport, Wright said there isn’t a scientific basis to find out that. But he is certain of a number of things.

The chain attracts an increasing percentage of female customers. And when Clark or Reese played, it was good for business. For example, their NCAA tournament games over the past two years have seen an roughly 10% increase in business.

CEO Joe Hummel said that at Twin Peaks, where most locations have 16 satellites and 75 TVs, the customer base is about 80% men. But the gender gap is narrowing.

“Five years ago, we might not have advertised or promoted Women’s March Madness,” Hummel said.

The company evaluates the schedule day by day to find out what number of TVs might be tuned in for each game. Restaurants can adapt to recent customer news and needs, which is crucial. Hummel said Twin Peaks doesn’t track what number of televisions are tuned to specific events or how many purchasers have requested a seat at a location to observe a selected game.

“It would be very difficult,” he said. “Our operators often communicate with the guest, and if we overwhelmed our operators – having to constantly keep track of this, this and this – they would end up worrying about the statistics and not even dealing with the guests.”

Nicole Bond, associate director of promoting strategy at Mintel Comperemedia, said her company’s research shows 71% of consumers imagine women’s sports will proceed to grow in popularity. She sees this up close in her side job as a bartender at Bernie’s Tap & Grill near Wrigley Field in Chicago.

“Men prefer women’s athletics,” said Bond, a former Northwestern softball player. “And I hear them talking about what is going on on in the W, or what is going on on in the NWSL, or whatever it’s. This became really interesting and became the norm in bar conversations. I feel people want to observe these games and groups, similar to you do if you invite people to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup.

Pehlke became a WNBA fan a few decade ago and began following Sky when Chicago product Candace Parker was added ahead of the 2021 championship season. He grew up as a Los Angeles Lakers fan in northern Wisconsin.

Pehlke, whose friend has season tickets, repeatedly visits Wintrust Arena for Sky games. He even collects WNBA trading cards.

The Signature facility, owned by former Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije, opened in January. There are 13 TVs on the partitions, 10 of which watch WNBA games on Friday night at the end of the regular season. Six of them showed Sky playing in Minnesota.

Pehlke said during the playoffs, the restaurant saw more requests to tune its TVs to WNBA games. He also expected a revival in business.

“The demand was incredible throughout the playoffs,” he said. “I was very happy to see that it wasn’t just for Fever games, but apparently for all games.”