Game On
Sports bars are booming, and Seattle’s getting more of them
By Sarah Stackhouse June 24, 2025
Turns out, people really love yelling at TVs together.
The sports bar market is projected to grow from $22.6 billion in 2023 to $34.3 billion by 2030, according to a report from For Insights Consultancy. What’s fueling the boom? A combination of more leagues, more live events, nonstop streaming, and a growing appetite for screen-filled, high-energy places to gather. Globally, more people are watching sports than ever. And maybe, after a few years of holding back during the pandemic, we’re still craving that shared experience — just a little more controlled than a crowded stadium.
We’re seeing it play out here in Seattle. Last month, the city landed a new Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion team set to begin play this fall, and the Storm recently signed a major local TV deal.
Bars are getting in on the action, too. Tom’s Watch Bar, a national Denver-based chain, opened its first local outpost earlier this year near Climate Pledge Arena — a 24,000-square-foot, two-story bar with wall-to-wall screens and full surround sound. The menu offers some classic game day food — burgers, ribs, tacos, and nachos. Two more Seattle locations are on the way: one in the Stadium District, and another planned for a northern neighborhood, with details still to come. Across the country, the company plans to open 10 to 12 new bars in the next 18 months.
Women’s sports bars are also on the rise — their numbers are expected to quadruple this year. Rough & Tumble opened in Ballard in 2022, and owner Jen Barnes has plans for a second location. Now comes Pitch the Baby, a new Capitol Hill bar set to open this summer. It’s European-inspired and focused on women’s sports. Drinks are classic (martinis, Peroni, local beer, natural wine), and food served from sibling restaurant Condesa next door is inspired by the food of Mexico City with a Moroccan twist. Expect tostadas, papas, and other spicy plates.
With more places than ever to cheer on the Storm, Seahawks, Reign, Mariners, Sounders, Kraken, and even UW teams, Seattle fans have options. And if you’re skipping stadium traffic and $15 beers for tostadas and a booth, you’re not alone.
Follow Us
The Little Whiskey Brand with Big Ambitions
Embracing experimental blending, the team behind Doc Swinson’s believes that everyone—not just aficionados—should enjoy whiskey.
Last week, I found myself doing something I hadn’t done in a very long time: taking a pickleback shot with a group of strangers in Ballard. For the uninitiated—or those who didn’t frequent the bars in the 2010s—a pickleback shot is pretty much what it sounds like; a shot of whiskey followed by a shot…
Seattle Beer Week Pours One for the City
No one needs a reason to drink beer. But bringing people together is the best one.
Seattle Beer Week is about community — not just the crowds at taprooms and breweries, but the people who make the beer, haul kegs, trade ideas, and keep the taps running. This spirit carries into the 16th annual Seattle Beer Week, which runs May 9-17 with more than 50 events across the city. It’s grown…
Lucy’s Lifts Up Underrepresented Winemakers
New wine bar and bottle shop offers small-batch wines by women, BIPOC, and queer winemakers
Alyssa Lisle is out to crush the norms around wine. Lisle opened Lucy’s Bottle Shop in January in a nondescript midcentury warehouse at 23rd Avenue West and Emerson Street — the newest addition to a nameless little micro-neighborhood to the west of Fisherman’s Terminal, just around the corner from Figurehead Brewing. Its mission behind opening…
How To Enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day in the Emerald City
Irish pubs plan a special day of events
Did you know that the bucolic green often associated with Ireland and the patron saint historically was not affiliated with that color? The Order of St. Patrick is associated with the color blue. And Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Wales. “Also, Saint Patrick is not the only patron saint of Ireland,” says Paula Stokes, a native of Ireland now living in…