All Women’s Sports Bar Network
Fewer places in the world have a greater concentration of elite female athletes than Seattle. With iconic teams from the WNBA to NWSL, the market for women’s sports was at an all-time high. But there was one major problem: Where was the support for these women’s teams? Where were the spaces dedicated to these leagues and athletes?
Jen Barnes asked these questions and soon decided to stop waiting for support to come. Instead, starting in 2022 with Rough & Tumble, she created her own communities to support women’s sports!
AWSN Power Player: Jen Barnes (CEO and Founder, Rough & Tumble)
Jen Barnes is the founder and CEO of Rough & Tumble, the world’s first company built to promote gender equity in sports viewing and fandom. Since 2022, Rough & Tumble has become a leader in the women’s sports sector, transforming how we watch and experience games together.
Jen’s passion for gender equity in sports and business is grounded in over 25 years of building vibrant, award-winning companies — and in her own experience as an athlete and avid sports fan. In addition to founding Rough & Tumble, Jen has partnered with NWSL players and WNBA owners to launch Salmon Bay FC, Seattle’s first pre-professional women’s soccer team, expanding opportunities for women athletes and fans alike.
Jen was recently named one of Seattle’s 25 Most Influential People and was honored by Seattle Reign FC as a legend for her lasting contributions to the women’s sports industry.
We spoke with Jen about her success, obstacles, and dreams and discovered what makes her an AWSN Power Player!
AWSN: Why a sports bar for women? Tell us how the dream began.
Jen Barnes: Rough & Tumble came to life in a true lightning-bolt moment: Fall of 2021, I couldn’t find a sports bar that was playing the NWSL semi-final game and my team was in it. In fact, they were the Seattle team, our team. We had the best players in the world playing for the Reign and it became crystal clear to me that we were well past the point where relegating women’s sports to a tiny screen in the back corner, if at all, was far from okay. While viewership of women’s sports is increasing each year, today it remains unequal to men’s at just 15%. When the idea to open a place that actively prioritized playing women’s sports on its screens and sound, just 5% of media was dedicated to women’s sports. We’re leveling the playing field on women’s sports and building the women’s sports fan base at the same time.
Sitting at your bar top is a dream team of your favorite female athletes, past or present. Who are they?
So many! NWSL, USWNT, WNBA, and Olympians come in regularly. Megan Rapinoe, Rose LaVelle, Emily Sonnett, Sofia Huerta, Alana Cook, Mercedes Russell, Kia Nurse, Bri Scurry, and so many of the 96ers and 99ers. Pro softball players Sis Bates and Baylee Klingler call R&T home, WNBA players from the Seattle Storm and across the League. Olympic Gold Medalists, Paralympic Gold Medalists, rugby, Aussie Rules footballers, ultimate, track and field, marathoners – the list is endless, and it means the world to us to have created a space that is as special to the players as it is to the fans.
How do you decide which games and events to showcase? Are there any specific criteria or strategies you use?
We have 18 screens and two sound zones so we can show a broad range of games and events concurrently. We generally prioritize the biggest/hottest games, followed by local pro and/or collegiate, followed by non-local; however, it can depend upon the games that are available and the day itself.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while establishing this business? How did you overcome them?
When I started Rough & Tumble, there was nowhere else in the world that centered playing women’s sports on its screens. There were no proofs of concept, no data to look at, etc., so everything I did was new, questioned, debated, and torn apart. Furthermore, I was a woman entrepreneur starting up a business, and women entrepreneurs are chronically underfunded, under-promoted, and undervalued. The biggest challenges initially were simply winning people over with the idea that a place like Rough & Tumble—a place that prioritized equality and women’s sports—was both needed and wanted. It didn’t, however, take long to prove that the idea was a winning one.
How do you foster a sense of community among your patrons? Are there any particular events or traditions that have become staples of your bar?
Just like women’s sports, everything at Rough & Tumble is about community. Sporting events bring people together in a way that crosses borders, languages, and belief systems. We incorporate events with alumni associations, non-profit organizations, teams, and more – whether to watch a game together or to enjoy time together playing trivia or drag bingo. We love our reality show watch parties, and each has its own strong following. Some of our favorites, though, are the fundraisers and community-tied events that do more than just highlight women’s sports but bring entire communities together in one place for something bigger.
Tell us about your local community. What are the hometown teams? Local heroes?
Seattle is the best women’s sports city in the world. We’re home to both long-time WNBA and NWSL teams, as well as world-class NCAA teams, with the University of Washington, Washington State University, and Seattle University nearby. We are lucky to have professional women’s tackle football (Seattle Majestics), pro women’s ultimate frisbee (Seattle Tempest), semipro Australia Rules Football, semipro rugby, and both semi-pro and pre-pro women’s soccer – including Salmon Bay FC, the first USLW team in Seattle and a team that Rough & Tumble is proud to be an owner of! Beyond these, we have a rich and vast array of recreational league teams and leagues that cover almost every sport imaginable. Seattle is deeply invested in and passionate about its women’s sports teams, athletes, and coaches. It’s hard not to be when the likes of Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Jordan Chiles, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Nneka Ogumike, Lauren Jackson, and Laura Harvey are your athletes and coaches.
Which women’s sports aren’t getting the love that you and your clientele would like to see?
There are still so many sports that aren’t covered on TV, and our patrons eat them all up. We have a strong appetite for rugby, Aussie Rules Football, ultimate frisbee, disc golf, water sports (kayak, surf, etc.), snow sports, skateboarding, snowboarding, and more!
Do you see growth in media coverage and viewership of women’s sports affecting your business? In what ways?
Absolutely. It’s changed drastically over the past two-plus years. Rough & Tumble is now in its third year of showing women’s sports, and it’s far easier to access women’s sports on linear cable than it was when we opened. That easier access allows for richer and more diverse programming, and streaming platforms are following suit. All of these together build fan bases who then show up for live games, travel to follow their teams, and interact with their favorite players on digital platforms, which, in turn, increases ad buys and athlete sponsorships. Rough & Tumble plays an integral role in building women’s sports fandom and fan base and is immediately affected by platforms and media companies that deliver women’s sports media.
Do you attribute your success to any strategy or decision in particular?
Removing barriers to viewing women’s sports remains new and novel. Simply creating a space that does so is the number one success strategy. From day one, I knew our focus would be on centering women’s sports to reach a point of equality between men’s and women’s sports on our screens. R&T is the first place ever built for gender equality in sports fandom. We love that our space is here not only for women’s sports fans but also for women who are fans of all sports – from NFL to Premier League, to NHL, to MLB, many sports fans love watching ALL sports and we’re proud of having created the first place in the world that everyone can enjoy them together.
What is the most memorable event or reaction from a customer that has stuck with you?
Gosh, there are so many! The reactions of pre-Title IX women who walk in and cry because they could never have imagined a big, beautiful space built for them and their love of being athletes are some of our favorites. And we love the kids, especially the young girls, who are in awe of watching their sheros on the screen and are learning that equality is normal and right and that they have a potential future to become pro athletes if they want to.
One favorite that’s top of mind is when two little girls (roughly ages 4 and 6) came in with their mom and were staring up at a women’s basketball game; one looked over at their mom and said, “I didn’t know I could be a basketball player when I grew up! Can I do that, Mom?” We have so many young kids who call R&T their home – they come in to tell us about their latest achievements in whatever sport they’re starting or loving, play a game of pool, and watch their favorite athletes and teams. When I opened R&T just a couple of years ago, kids weren’t talking about women athletes. Today, we regularly hear the kids that come in–regardless of gender–talk about their favorite gymnast, swimmer, soccer player, or basketball player. It’s wonderful and it’s part of the change.
If you could host any women’s sports team or athlete at your bar, who would it be and why?
The list is way too long ☺ JuJu Watkins, Caitlin Clark, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Gabby Williams, Naomi Osaka, Sabrina Ionescu, Ilona Maher. Where do we start or end?!
Do you collaborate with local women’s teams, leagues, or athletes? How do these partnerships contribute to your mission?
Yes! All the time! We work very closely and in partnership with all the women’s teams locally, as well as all the major and minor leagues nationally – from Athletes Unlimited to the WNBA, the NWSL, and across Unlimited, USL, PWHL, LOVB, etc. Partnering with women’s sports leagues and teams has been a critical part of building the women’s sports fan base and increasing both the knowledge and following of sports by our patron base, but also the vital need that these leagues and athletes have for support, media, promotion, and growth themselves. R&T plays an integral role on both sides.
What advice would you share with women wanting to make it in the business of women’s sports?
It’s the best industry sector to work in. It’s growing quickly, and it's tough to stay abreast of the changes, so be flexible and get ready to work harder than you’ve ever worked while being the most rewarded you’ve been in your career. There’s no better industry.
Connect with Jen and Rough & Tumble here:
Instagram and Facebook: @roughandtumblepub
Twitter/X: @roughtumblepub