S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on this episode of KPBS Midday Edition. One of us is a new sports bar with a focus on women's sports , how it's building community around women athletes. This is KPBS Midday Edition , connecting our communities through conversation. So w NBA playoffs started this past weekend , and for many fans , it hasn't always been easy finding a place to watch at WNBA games. Even at sports bars , it can be difficult , but that's changing as people are headed to one bar on University Ave. It's called One of Us , and it's San Diego's first women's sports bar. And while it opened just earlier this year , it reflects a longtime desire for community around women's sports in our city. I'm joined now by two of the co-founders , Kehlani Millsaps and Patricia Siebold. Kehlani and Patricia. Welcome to the show and welcome into the studio.
S2: Thank you. Thank you for having us , for having us.
S1: Glad to have you both here. Kehlani. What inspired you to open one of us?
S3: Uh , I mean , it's many , many things. You know , women's sports have been growing exponentially over the last several years. And , um , we wanted to just have that space where we could go enjoy the games and , you know , be amongst our peers in a positive environment , but feel , you know , that that packed energy of a stadium. So here we are today.
S1: That's great. And why San Diego? I mean , we obviously have a lot of sporting events going on here lately , but what makes it the perfect place for a bar like this?
S3: Well , San Diego is a big soccer town. Everybody knows that. Um , we do have a lot of sports here that , uh , that really showcase , you know , the young talent that that comes up from the community. And yeah , we we just really love San Diego so much. It helps that we live here too.
S2: So Sandy goes home. Yeah , yeah.
S1: The hometown. Well , I mean , the name one of us. What's the story and significance behind that? Patricia.
S2: Oh , there's just so many. Um , it , like in the name came of us being together in a group and just being sports related in terms of , like , let me bring it back to , like , our mascot , right? Our mascot is a wolf. Um , it's like our spirit animal in terms of being in a pack , being a lone wolf. And we know women a lot of the times we're alone , right , in watching sports at home alone. And we don't want that. Right? We want to be together in a pack and it just makes it so much better. Was being together and fighting the good fight?
S1: That's great.
S3: So , yeah , when you're here at the bar. You're one of us , right? Right.
S1: Right. And you're welcome. You know , you found community. Um , you mentioned this earlier. Kehlani. But the interest in industry for women's sports has , has seen huge growth over the past few years. In fact , it's projected to grow by 250% by 2030. So what's been your experience with that? How have you felt that in the bar itself?
S3: Well , I mean , access to these sports , it's still an issue. Like , yes , we're seeing all these broadcast deals and all that sort of thing pop up. Um , and , you know , we get more access , but at the same time , the access is blocked for , for example , in men's sports is going through this right now too , with this growth. Um , so you have these broadcasting deals that breaks up , uh , throughout the week , like which games can be viewed when and where , uh , whether it's a cable TV or whether it's a streaming service. So , I mean , to an extent. You know , access is kind of going backwards. Um , but we are helping to take the guessing out of that. And in the research , like a lot of women's sports fans do a tremendous amount of research just to be able to watch , like , their favorite team. You know , one game a week. Um , just trying to figure out where it is. And we are taking that piece of the puzzle off the table for them. You know , we're we're providing them with a space to come and be with their friends too. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And what's been your relationship with sports. Did you all play.
S3: Yes I did.
S1: All right. What would you play.
S2: Um I'm a soccer player. Board number nine.
S4: Oh , great. Okay. Yes.
S2: I love the glory of scoring goals. Um. Go , Sarah. Lady. Tigers. Uh , I started playing when I was four years old. Okay.
S4: Okay.
S2: And it's just I love , I love it. I'm Brazilian , so you're basically. It's in our genes to be an athlete and specifically a soccer player. Uh , and I just love the team aspect and also like you just learned so much. Um , and just being independent as well. But the team aspect is just , just meant everything to me growing up. Um.
S4: Um.
S1: And Killarney.
S3: Uh , a little bit different of a story. I liked playing all the sports growing up. Um , so I'm actually the oldest sibling of quite a large group , and , um , I was lucky enough to be able to , um , experience all the sports that I wanted to. From a young age. So I tried tennis , golf , volleyball , basketball , soccer , softball. I'm sure I'm missing something in there. I always wanted to do hockey. I always wanted to do football. Wasn't allowed to. Um. But that's okay , I understand. Um , so , like , I was always participating in rec league sports. By the time I got to high school , it was just , you know , just for fun. I was absolutely competitive in every sport I played. I'm a very competitive person anyways. Um , but but playing sports was definitely a fun thing. And since high school , I've gone on to , you know , play , you know , adult league , slow pitch softball or rec league soccer and , um , yeah , there's I want to try rugby now. I want to try flag football. So for me it's just I , I love sports overall. Right.
S1: Right. Yeah. It's part of part of your life. It is like growing up and playing sports. Did you all ever feel like there was a difference in support or even fandom around women's sports and girls sports , as opposed to boys and men's? Absolutely.
S2: Absolutely. Um , the men had all the support. Um , just growing up , all I knew was the 90 niners , the US women's national team. When it came to like World Cup , there wasn't any access for me to go watch them. Right. Like it is now. Like now we have NWSL , there's so many new leagues , new teams joining the league and it's just constantly growing. But now it just feels nice. Like it took us this far , this long , this long? Yeah. This long to get here. Um , okay. Okay.
S1: Okay. Lonnie.
S3: How was the question?
S5: I mean , growing up.
S1: Did you did you. Were you ever. Was there ever a time when you were like , man , I really wish I had the same support , um , and and fandom as the the men's teams.
S3: I mean , not while growing up. Um , honestly , I wasn't aware. I was so in my own little bubble playing my sports that , like , I just wasn't even aware of what was going on in , in the outside world. And I mean , still watching , you know , going the games growing up , like going to Angels and Dodgers games because I'm from Orange County. Um , and , you know , Lakers games. Uh , not not so much football , but like , my family would watch , uh , football , um , on the weekends and yeah , I just , I it didn't even occur to me back then that there could be professional leagues for women. Um , at that point , I didn't realize that until , you know , more towards the end of high school , getting into college. And , you know , that's when we started. I'm aging myself now. That's when we started seeing the professional leagues for for soccer and that sort of thing. So , you know , at that point , that's when I became aware of it , like , oh , where has this been all this time? Why didn't I know about this? Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Yeah. Well , hey , the bar opened not too long ago. What's the reception been like since it opened? I mean , how have fans really come together in this space? Oh.
S3: Oh. It's phenomenal. We already have regulars. We're only two months in. We are. We already have regulars. Um , even for these WNBA playoff games , I've had some , uh , some guests come back for , you know , each iteration of one of the games. And I was like , weren't you just here like , yesterday? I love it , though. It's so great. Um , the North Park community specifically has been so receptive to us. Um , all the other business owners , all the the local neighbors , the apartment building specifically right behind us. We get a lot of them coming in. Um , you know , just just to grab a drink. They they don't even , you know , when they first came in , they didn't even know it was a women's sports bar. But now they're like , all about it. They're buying merch and they're in. They're here for it. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , this is great. It's it's yet another space. Um , you know , for for women athletes and for people who just want to enjoy women's sports. And I think it's really great because there are so many lessons learned in playing sports itself. Talk to me a bit about that , about the lessons that you learned growing up playing sports and the camaraderie that was there.
S3: Yeah , so there's actually a study that came out pretty recently that was saying that , uh , I don't remember specific numbers , but it's like 90% of sea level female executives were in competitive sports through at least like high school or even college. And and what that says to me is that , you know , teamwork has a lot to do with success in life. It helps you with social cues and , you know , just learning how to communicate better. Um , and , you know , being being a part of something , being a part of something is a really big deal. And you may not realize it right away , but once you're in it and you lose it and , you know. So , yeah , um , honestly , everything ties back to community.
S1: It really does. It will. And even on the website for one of us , uh , it says community is just as important as the final score. And that's a really , really good tagline there. Um , you've also made it a priority to make one of us a safe space for all sports fans , regardless of what team or sport they're really into. So how have you taken safety into consideration here? Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So I mean , again , this goes back to the back to the fans and back to the community. They've done an amazing job at making each other feel safe in our space. So obviously , you know , our doors are open for everyone. We want all sports fans to to come and enjoy. You know , like I said before , that that packed stadium energy , but , you know , in a small space and , um , you know , obviously our staff , uh , they want to make everyone feel welcome as soon as they walk in the door. But that's on a hospitality level when we get to the fans , uh , even when it is like one team against another big champion , you know , big , big rivalry game , everyone still so respectful to each other , like , yeah , there's a little back and forth , a little banter , but there's no fighting or anything like that. It's all in good fun , it's all positive and everyone's just there to have a good time. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well. How have you worked with local women's sports teams? I mean , I know you've done a lot with San Diego Wave FC , is that right?
S3: Yes , absolutely. We love them. Yes. They one of the reasons that we were here today with us. Women's sports bar is because of our friends at San Diego Wave FC. Um , yeah. So not even specific to women's sports. It's youth sports in general as well. Um , we have made sure that we made a space where they can come and enjoy themselves. You know , we we have healthy food options on the menu. We have big community tables where teams can come after a game after practice. We've even had elementary school , uh , groups come in after , uh , after a long week. And , you know , the parents come , they bring their kids and just everybody's. They're having a good time. Um , but specifically two sports. Um , we just wanted to make sure that there was a capability for these people to come and enjoy each other's company. Like growing up , um , after , you know , any game , really , but especially big games. We would go to our local pizza spot And , you know , there's like a little arcade and you'd celebrate , you get your little trophies and that sort of thing. And I really wanted to make sure that that still existed for the youth today. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , and that's super important. I mean , do you feel like there's like , challenges to youth , um , being engaged in sports and having that really healthy experience these days? Absolutely.
S3: Absolutely. Um , we don't have kids of our own , but , um , you know , we do see , you know , the generation that's growing up with phones and iPads and all that and not necessarily going outside. So we are from that generation that's kind of bridge that gap. Like I remember going outside until it was dark and just when it got dark , you go inside , you go home , you have dinner and that's it. But also , I was right around that age when I could have a cell phone and I'm , you know , like a freshman in high school , um , did have access to dial up internet , um , and that sort of that changed things , you know. Um , So now with youth today , I , I've seen that it is a little bit harder for some youth to get involved in these sports , whether it is an individual sport or a team sport , and then once they are in it , they love it. It's amazing. But you know , you got to get them there first , right?
S1: You just got to get them there first. I should mention Patricia , she stepped out of the studio. She's got a little a little cough. It happens. Um , but um Kehlani I mean , what what are some of the challenges you've had to navigate both in getting the bar off the ground and now that it's open?
S3: I mean , finances are always going to be an issue. Um , Patricia and I , you know , we we put everything we had in our bank accounts into this. Um , we were lucky enough to find a another business partner , Carrie Pierce , who also , you know , uh , put everything she had into this as well , uh , to make this dream come true. And outside of that , I mean all the challenges. The more we think about it like , yeah , sure , it was a challenge , but look where we are today. Look at what's happened. Look at all the people that have come and have had an opportunity to enjoy this space. Um , and , you know , we're so , so thrilled about that. Um , along the ride , um , one of the challenges was actually being able to find other women owned businesses that we could support. Uh , we were lucky enough to have a team around us that helped us with that research. So we had femme folio design that did our branding. We had Alison Hensley and Pandora Design that did our murals for us. Uh , you know , there's just so many aspects of female empowerment that we , you know , we saw it as a challenge and we wanted to tackle it. We wanted to help these other businesses and put them out there.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with Kehlani , Millsaps and Patricia Siebold , co-founders of One of US women's sports bar. One of us is on University Ave in North Park. And as always , we'll include more details on KPBS. Thank you so much.
S3: Thank you.
S6: It's great.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
