{"id":330223,"date":"2026-06-10T05:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T05:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/330223\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T05:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T05:32:10","slug":"womens-sports-bar-to-relocate-for-austin-light-rail-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/330223\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s sports bar to relocate for Austin light rail work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin\u2019s multibillion-dollar light rail system is advancing toward construction, and some local businesses along the proposed route are preparing for relocation. Among them is the 1972 Women\u2019s Sports Pub<\/a>, a year\u2011old establishment on The Drag that has quickly become a gathering place for women\u2019s sports fans.<\/p>\n

Co-owner Debra Hallum said the pub was founded with a commitment to showing only women\u2019s sports on its TVs.<\/p>\n

“It was from our heart to do something in the community for, again, women putting women on the pedestal, giving them a space of their own,\u201d Hallum said.<\/p>\n

But the business is now facing displacement as Project Connect<\/a> moves into its next phase in the light rail project.<\/p>\n

Hallum told KVUE that the pub recently received a letter from the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) stating the property is needed for the proposed transit project. The site sits in the path of planned changes to Guadalupe and Dean Keeton streets as part of the light rail design.<\/p>\n

When signing a four-year lease, Hallum said the pub understood relocation was a possibility but didn\u2019t anticipate it happening so soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re told that we will get a letter to vacate any day. We’re still in limbo,\u201d she said. \u201cWe’ve not received that letter. So, we are waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hallum said while the pub will receive relocation assistance to help cover moving costs, it is fundraising <\/a>to bridge additional expenses, including payroll. She noted that recent changes to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan eligibility \u2013 requiring 100 percent U.S. citizenship among owners \u2014 have cut the pub off from a key source of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been our biggest gut punch,\u201d Hallum said. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s what SBA funding and loans are for, is to help your small, local businesses, you know, get started and get established.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where the rail project stands
Approved by voters in 2020, Austin\u2019s light rail system aims to reduce congestion and expand transit options across the city. The ATP said the project is progressing through major milestones, including the release of its final environmental impact statement,<\/a> critical to secure billions of dollars in federal funding and begin construction. That report, based on a May 2025 design, estimates the project will require about 85 acres of land and displace 71 businesses.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Read the full story at our news partner KVUE.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Austin\u2019s multibillion-dollar light rail system is advancing toward construction, and some local businesses along the proposed route are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,4262,745,5368,840],"class_list":["post-330223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-bars","tag-closings","tag-light-rail","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}