Texas’ first women’s sports bar is closing its doors at the end of the month to make way for an $8 billion city transportation project. 1972: ATX Women’s Sports Pub announced on social media that its final day of service on the Drag in Austin will be August 30.
In May, the bar first revealed that its building is being acquired through eminent domain as part of the Austin Transit Partnership light rail Project Connect, a city initiative set to transform a nearly 10-mile route in downtown Austin. At the time, 1972 co-owners Debra Hallum and Marlene du Plessis were still waiting for an official notice to vacate the building and chose to keep the bar open as long as possible, but now the pair have set an official closing date.
“In such a short time, you filled these walls with friendship, joy, unforgettable games, and so much love for women’s sports,” the pair wrote in an Instagram caption. “We’re forever grateful for every cheer, every watch party, and every person who walked through our doors.”
1972 opened on the Drag on Guad across the street from the University of Texas at Austin in March 2025, and became the first bar in Texas solely dedicated to women’s sports. Hallum and du Plessis brought the concept to Austin after drawing inspiration from similar bars like the Sports Bra in Portland and Rough & Tumble Pub in Seattle.
1972: ATX Women’s Sports Pub has an empowering wall of decorations leading to the bathrooms with Sports Illustrated covers of prominent women athletes including Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe and more. (Cristela Jones/Cristela Jones/MySA)
The bar, named after the landmark year that Title IX was enacted, quickly became a hub for all things women’s sports from watching WNBA games to hosting community events and even collaborating with local women’s sports teams.
Hallum told MySA in May that when she and Plessis signed the lease for the bar, they knew a move could be a possibility in the future due to the light rail project but they were unaware of when the construction would start as the city was still in the process of securing funding.
In February, Project Connect officials awarded Austin Rail Constructors the multibillion-dollar construction contract to finalize design work, which ramped up pre-construction preparations. Construction on the first phase of the project is now expected to begin in 2027 and is estimated to be completed by 2033.
While Hallum and du Plessis said on Instagram that they don’t have immediate plans to relocate the bar yet, they are, “open to new ideas, new possibilities, and new ways to grow the 1972 Pub brand and keep building spaces where women’s sports can thrive.” In May, the pair launched an online fundraiser to help find a new home after they said they don’t qualify for the U.S. government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) funding anymore because the bar is not 100% owned by a U.S. citizen.
“We always understood that a move could eventually become part of our journey, we believed that reaching our one-year mark in business would open the door to SBA funding that could help support a relocation,” Hallum said in May. “Because 1972 is proudly half-immigrant-owned, we are no longer eligible for those funding opportunities, making an already difficult transition even more challenging.”
In March, the Trump administration’s SBA banned foreign nationals and non-citizens from accessing SBA small business loans for U.S. businesses.
“We don’t know exactly what comes next, but we know we’re not done dreaming,” the pair concluded on Instagram. “Until then, come see us, raise a glass, and make a few more memories with us before the end of the month!”
Find it:
2530 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78705
This article originally published at Texas’ first women’s sports bar closing after just one year in Austin.