Philly sports fans, meet the Stoop Pigeon. Something the city’s never seen before.
In a sports environment dominated by coverage of the Birds, the Phils and other men’s sports teams, the Stoop Pigeon will aim to be a “hub dedicated entirely to celebrating women’s sports, fostering connection and uniting fans under one roof.”
Watch Party PHL, the group helping put more live women’s sports on the TVs of bars around the city and bringing more women’s professional sports teams to Philly, unveiled the name and logo for its upcoming women’s sports hub at its NWSL Final watch party at Yards Brewing Saturday evening.
The name unveiling was announced with a video voiced by Sixers play-by-play announcer Kate Scott. Halftime of the game included a preview of a Philly-based soccer series, “Kick.” Yards even rebranded its hazy pale ale with the Stoop Pigeon name, which Eagles head of football development and strategy Connor Barwin bought for the first 100 customers at the event.
So, why Stoop Pigeon? Leary said that the name was a combination of two things that are authentic to Philly’s “trademark grit, loyalty and unapologetic authenticity.”
“We knew all along that we wanted a pigeon for our mascot,” she explained. “Pigeons are known to be very loyal. They are known to always come back home. And so that was something that really stood out to us.
“The ‘stoop’ is a very Philly word and it symbolizes neighborhood connection. So we really wanted to kind of tie that into it, too, because we want this to be like a third space for our community, a place where people come and hang out and feel welcomed all the time.”
The group hasn’t found the space it will call the Stoop Pigeon yet, but Leary said that they’re “really close” to securing that space — ideally in Midtown Village’s Gayborhood, close to Broad Street — and are still on course for a spring 2026 opening.
Since it was created in 2024, Watch Party PHL has held 75 parties at bars around the city, including Yards, Dock Street Brewery, and South House, drawing thousands of sports fans to view live broadcasts of NWSL, WNBA, women’s college games and other sports.
What started as Leary hosting a viewing party after she couldn’t find somewhere to watch the Women’s March Madness Championship game turned into a grassroots advocacy movement that was recognized by the city last month.
That journey has brought in over $100,000 in funding for the hub, with more than $70,000 of that coming from a Kickstarter campaign. It has also highlighted the demand for more women’s professional sports that has subsequently contributed to bringing a WNBA franchise to the city in 2030 and the Unrivaled Basketball series next January. The group is still highlighting the fanbase’s desire to bring an NWSL franchise, and more, to the city.
“I was just saying this morning to my partner Lori how crazy this last year has been, with hooking up with Alex and Wanda Sykes (founders of the Philadelphia Sisters) and having them show up at our events,” she recalled. “Having Aubrey Plaza wear our shirt on the big screen at a New York Liberty’s game, and talking with other potential owners and investors, the big names in Philly and in women’s sports. Just how supportive everyone’s been and how encouraging they have been, wanting this to happen.”
Philly got its first-ever women’s sports bar, Marsha’s, on South Street, back in September. Both Marsha’s owner Chivonn Anderson and Leary agree that there’s plenty of room in the city for two women’s sports venues — and more.
The Stoop Pigeon will be a slightly different concept, though. When women’s sports aren’t on the TV, Leary said, it will serve as a cultural hub and collaborative working space for people to meet up, grab a coffee, study, or even record a podcast.
“If we’re going to make Philadelphia the premier spot for women’s sports in the country, we need the premier space for that,” Leary said. “So we really want this to be like an experience, a place that people when they come to visit Philly know that they need to come to our women’s sports hub.”
The post Watch Party PHL unveils the name for its upcoming women’s sports hub appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY.
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