Australia's first women’s only sports bar,a new type of immersive sports-viewing experience
Today’s lineup:
There’s a new type of immersive sports-viewing experience that’s been recently launched and starting to roll-out, putting fans in the best seat in the house
Australia's first women’s only sports bar is opening in Sydney. Here’s why The Ladies League will be successful
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There’s a new type of immersive sports-viewing experience that’s been recently launched and starting to roll-out, putting fans in the best seat in the house
It’s no secret that technology is set to transform the sports-viewing experience.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are often among the methods commonly expected to underpin this movement, but video’s of Manchester United’s season opener and UFC 305 being broadcast at Cosm recently went viral across the internet showing a new way that this is set to take place.
Cosm is now rolling-out a new type of “Shared Reality” state-of-the-art technology that aims to evolve the sports-viewing experience by bringing immersive experiences to physical spaces.
Through their revolutionary, giant 9,600 square-ft domed and compound curved LED screen that wraps around the audience, Cosm has created a unique viewing space where every seat is fully immersed in the content on the screen.
This uniquely high-level of immersion gives fans a hyper-realistic in-game experience of sitting courtside at an NBA game or ringside at the UFC.
The experience makes you feel like you've been transported to the stadium and allows you to watch the game in the best seats in the house among your friends, and without the need for headsets or devices.
How the production works:
The Cosm fan experience isn’t simply the traditional broadcast footage shown on a big screen...
Sports events are filmed with the company’s own premium-positioned cameras (situated courtside/on-field/ringside) to help create an illusion of being extremely close to the action
The in-house technical directors constantly switch between the 4-6 unique camera angles to create the best possible viewing experience
Broadcast partnerships enable the integration of live commentary
Cosm’s early success and expansion plans...
So far, Cosm has opened two venues. One in Los Angeles near SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome, and another in Dallas. They plan to open a third venue in Atlanta soon.
They’ve recently raised $250m+ in a new funding round which will support the advancement of their tech and media businesses, as well as the development of future venues.
They’ve also established a number of key sports partnerships with the likes of the NBA, UFC, ESPN, NBC Sports, Turner Sports and FOX Sports.
The arrival of Cosm is part of the emergence of immersive venues and fan experiences.
Not long ago, the National Hockey League stepped their draft event up a notch and hosted it at the $2.3b Sphere in Las Vegas, and it made some noise across the US and the globe.
With the roll-out starting to take place across the globe, will we see this new technology and fan experience arrive in Australia sometime soon?
Australia's first women’s only sports bar is opening in Sydney. Here’s why The Ladies League will be successful
1. A new & unique sports venue concept (category creation)
Public spaces to watch women’s sports in Australia have been virtually non-existent up until now, but this gap is about to start to be filled.
Women’s sports such as AFLW, State of Origin Women, women’s basketball, surfing and A-League soccer will be played live & loud 5 x nights a week at the new venue which features:
80 seats
Downstairs bar
Upstairs viewing lounge
6 x TVs, 1 x Big Screen
The new venue is a first-of-its-kind in Australia and a great example of new “category creation” – a practice of inventing a new market segment by introducing a product/service that addresses an unmet need.
What is that need?
As explained by the founder Rose Valente in the The Sydney Morning Herald:
“There has been no place where people can gather and watch women’s sports together”
Instead of competing within the well-established sports bar market, the founder has built The Ladies League (TLL) as the pioneer and leader of a new, distinct women's-only sports bar category in Australia.
2. Women’s sports has been underrepresented within the media and traditionally marketed as family-friendly, but this is set to change
Previous research by the Victorian Government found that just 15% of media coverage in 2022–2023 was dedicated to women's sport. This new sports venue concept helps create change. It expands the coverage of women’s sports and offers an appealing new experience (a place to eat, drink and be loud) to a new segment (18+) of supporters.
3. The concept has proven successful internationally
Since 2022, multiple women’s only sports bars have opened across the US. The most notable example is The Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon which reported nearly $1m in revenue within its first 8 months of operating, and recently received major investment from Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder) to help it franchise and expand.
*Other examples include A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis and Rough & Tumble Pub in Seattle.
4. Strategic placement
Place (4 p’s) has been strategically used to help create a "safe space" – it’s located among the many LGBTQ+ bars in Oxford St, and it’s close to Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The growth of women's sports is inevitable and the TLL are well-positioned to be contributors to, and recipients of this positive change
By successfully creating the first women’s only sports bar in Australia, TLL are in a strong position to own the category and build a lasting competitive advantage.
The key to TLL growth & success will be to strengthen and consolidate the association between the brand name (The Ladies League) and the category (women’s sports bars in Australia) so that when people increasingly think of the category, they think of TLL.
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Not yet a subscriber? Discover specialised sports marketing insights, tailored for sports industry professionals within Australia and across the globe. If you work in sports for an agency, brand or rights-holder then this is for you.
Keen to hear how the women’s only sports bar goes as a sports bar that suits women was my co-owner’s idea (who’s a woman) when we opened the Dock!