Philly is set for a huge summer of women’s sports. The Stoop Pigeon wants to be at the center of it.
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The Stoop Pigeon hosted a double-watch party for the Wimbledon women’s final and Saturday’s WNBA slate at Dock Street Brewing in South Philly. The organization partnered with United States Tennis Associate Middle States, to help promote August’s Ennoble Care Open on the University Pennsylvania’s campus, and Hoopbus, a charitable organization dedicated to the transformative power of basketball. Attendees could play red ball tennis, win tennis racket prize packs, and shoot hoops outside on the bus.
After starting as a monthly WNBA watch party group, The Stoop Pigeon has grown into one of the largest dedicated women’s sports fan communities in the city. Jen Leary, founder of The Stoop Pigeon, now regularly hears from local and national organizations looking to activate the women’s sports communities about partnerships.
“Anytime we hold a certain event, like if it’s tennis, we reach out to all the tennis organizations we can find on the internet,” Leary said. “Similarly, with the WNBA game, Hoopbus reached out to us because they were going to be on this national tour, and they were going to be in Philly. Having them stop here, it’s a win-win. It gives something fun for the community, but also helps us continue again to build momentum for what we’re building.”
Leary emphasized that while The Stoop Pigeon might be one of the most vocal groups, promoting women’s sports in the city is a “team effort,” and a big part of that is partnering with other local organizations.
“The one thing that women’s sports around the world does is we lift each other up and we work together. Progress in numbers,” she added.
The Stoop Pigeon is aiming to open a women’s sports hub on Broad Street by midfall, Leary said. But in a year with several high-profile women’s sports events, Leary is committed to keeping the momentum growing in the city and building the community as they prepare the space.
After the massive success of Unrivaled in January, Philly will host professional women’s lacrosse, tennis, and squash over the next five months. Leary believes that the efforts The Stoop Pigeon and other organizations have put into developing a women’s sports community in the city are part of the reason Philly is landing more events, but landing the event is half the battle.
“The goal is just to get people there, to show the WTA and all the other women’s sports leagues in the country that Philly is a women’s sports town, and if you come to Philly, we will pack the stadiums like we did with Unrivaled,” Leary said. “Even if you don’t know tennis or even if you don’t know lacrosse, we want you there.”
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