Forthcoming women's sports bar kicks off programming with Minnesota Women's Professional Hockey opener

CATHY WURZER: Huge news today for Minnesota hockey fans. Minneapolis and Saint Paul will host the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championships. That was just announced. Xcel Energy Center, the 3M Arena at Mariucci will be the primary sites for the junior championships, which will be held in Minnesota for the first time since 2005.

Here's another big hockey story tonight-- the inaugural season of the Minnesota professional women's hockey team, or PWHL, starts. And no, I'm not using the team name because it doesn't have one yet. Not surprisingly, though, a number of players on the team are Minnesotans. Among them is Lee Stecklein, who played defense for team USA in 16 games across three Olympics as well as for the Minnesota Gophers. Here she is at practice over the weekend.

LEE STECKLEIN,: I love being able to see everyone continue to just keep playing and getting better at hockey. I think so many careers over the years have been maybe cut a little short, and you never get to see everyone's full potential. So we have a really skilled and talented group here. And I'm excited for us all to keep reaching our new potential together.

CATHY WURZER: Minnesota is playing away in Boston tonight, but you can cheer them on at a watch party hosted by the Minneapolis Women's Club and A Bar of Their Own. It's a new women's sports bar that you may have heard about that's opening later this year.

Joining us right now is Jillian Hiscock, the owner of A Bar of Their Own. Jillian, welcome to the program.

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Thanks so much, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: So I understand you're a season ticket holder for the Lynx and the Gopher softball team. You're a community owner of the Minnesota Aurora. What do you think of women's hockey?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Oh, so excited. Cannot wait to have a new team to cheer for here in Minnesota.

CATHY WURZER: We have had, of course, amazing women's professional teams in the past. And we're adding, obviously, with the Aurora, as I mentioned, and now the PWHL. Do you feel, because I know you're a sports fan, do you feel like the tide is changing towards supporting and funding more women's sports?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Oh, absolutely. It's so clear that there's such an increase in investment. We're still a long way to getting what we want, but we've seen such incredible growth in the last even two to three years that is exactly what we want to be seeing happening. And the league is a great start to have that happening, and our bar here opening up in the spring will be another way to continue to invest in women's sports.

CATHY WURZER: What spurred you to open a bar for women's sports?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah, it was initially inspired by The Sports Bra, which is the first of its kind women's sports bar in Portland, Oregon. And, honestly, I kept waiting for somebody to do it here in Minneapolis that knew anything about opening a bar, because I certainly don't.

But once nobody did it, I decided it was our time to do it. So I know this community is ready for it. We've just had an unbelievable outpouring of support since we announced in September. And now, we're here about eight weeks away from opening. So.

CATHY WURZER: Has the learning curve been steep? You mentioned you've not opened a sports bar in the past. So what are you learning?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: One thing I benefit from my background is I spent a lot of time in higher ed and nonprofits, which are traditionally undersourced and you have to do a lot of things and learn how to do things on your own. So in some ways, this just feels like my biggest project I've ever taken on. One thing I think is probably my best skill is that I know what I don't know, and I'm not afraid to ask for help.

So I've surrounded myself with some really wonderful people that have all the knowledge that I don't as it relates to the individual aspects of it. But we're pulling together a really great team here to make sure it's a success.

CATHY WURZER: So when I walk into the bar, what might I experience? Why would it be any different than another sports bar?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. I'll tell you straight up-- I just had our AV team in here. We're going to have 12 65-inch TVs that will all be showing women sports all day long every time you come in, where the norm for most places is have to walk in and try to find a bartender or server who has enough time to change the channel to get to your sport. We're prioritizing women's sports and making sure that they are absolutely on every TV in our bar all day every day.

CATHY WURZER: And what about the atmosphere?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. So we're in the former Tracy Saloon and Eatery in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. And so it's a great location that has a ton of history in this neighborhood and within this community. And we're really working to make sure that it's an inclusive and family friendly place for all people.

And so making sure-- literally, we've been walking around and sitting in different spots in the bar to make sure you're going to be able to see the TV no matter of where you're sitting. We've had just a ton of incredible sports memorabilia donated to the bar. So we'll have jerseys hanging, we have a big Maya Moore Fathead that just got donated to us-- so all kinds of fun different memorabilia that will have hanging all over the walls. And also, the opportunity to highlight and showcase some of the incredible local athletes and local women that have had a major impact on the sports community.

CATHY WURZER: Good. Say, getting back to the Professional Women's Hockey League with the big watch party tonight-- what are you expecting?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. So the Women's Club of Minneapolis has been absolutely incredible hosts for us. We actually, just got before I got on, found out there are still just a handful of tickets available. So if people are interested in watching, you can absolutely go to our website and learn more about that.

But we have a big screen TV that we're going to be broadcasting the game from. We'll have some fun mocktails and cocktails available. I think we're calling them the Puck Drop and the Penalty Box-- so some fun drinks that you can come try. And, really, we wanted to try to emulate what we're hoping to have The Bar of Their Own be for our community here in a couple of months, where it's just a place where you can watch with a community of other fans and make sure that your fandom is prioritized as much as everybody else's fandom.

We didn't want to miss the chance to celebrate this huge moment for Minnesota hockey, even though our doors aren't technically open. And so the Women's Club of Minneapolis has been incredibly gracious hosts to open their doors for us to do a little popup party tonight to celebrate the women's team.

CATHY WURZER: You mentioned fandom. Let's talk about your fandom. When did it start for you? Were you active in sports as a kid?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. I grew up in a very athletic family. My dad played baseball until he was probably too old to play baseball. So I was a three sport athlete in high school-- played tennis, gymnastics, and softball, and continue to play in rec leagues in both kickball and in softball. So I've been a sports fan my entire life, and have grown up around it, and learned so many valuable lessons from sports-- and excited to create a space for people that either have that shared experience or weren't able to have that experience can all come together.

CATHY WURZER: And so the opening day, of course, we have tonight, right, for this watch party. But when's the inaugural day for the bar to open?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah, the goal is March 1. We're still waiting on a couple of things from the city in terms of permits to come into place. But the goal is for us to be open on March 1, which is the week before the Big 10 Women's Basketball Tournament will be hosted at Target Center. So we want to make sure that we're open in time for that big event that's going to be happening here in our community.

CATHY WURZER: And, of course, you've got the girls hockey tournament, too, which will be big.

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. And so many things-- there's great college sports, we'll have the WNBA Draft will be happening around that, we have the gymnastics tournament coming up in June. There's so many wonderful things happening in Minnesota in the sports world.

CATHY WURZER: I love the excitement in your voice. I can't see you, but I like to hear your voice. I'm sure you're thinking there's probably some manner of terror that you'll probably experience between now and then. But you sound like you're just so very excited.

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. I keep saying to my wife that I haven't experienced any panic moments yet. I know they're coming, but I haven't experienced them yet. And it really just affirms that I think we're doing the right thing, because every day I'm so pumped to come to this place and turn it into a really important place for our community.

CATHY WURZER: OK. What time, by the way, does the watch party start tonight for anybody who wants to show up?

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Yeah. Doors open at 5:00 PM, and puck drop is at 6:00 PM.

CATHY WURZER: OK. Jillian, I wish you all the best. Thank you so much.

JILLIAN HISCOCK: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: We've been talking to Jillian Hiscock. Jillian is the owner of A Bar of Their Own.