'Til Next Season
Austin women's sports bar sets closing date to make way for light rail
The owners of 1972 Pub always knew it may have to close because of the light rail, but they say the issue came up sooner than they'd thought.
Women's sports aren't over in Austin, but locals' dedicated spot for watching them is. Women's sports bar 1972 Pub announced on social media that August 30 will be its final day of business.
Pub owners Debra Hallum and Marlene du Plessis and the community knew this day would come, and they knew why, but not when. In June, Hallum and du Plessis publicly discussed a letter that they had received, telling them that the business was in the way of planned development for Austin's light rail.
Hallum and du Plessis told KVUE at the time that they even knew it may happen during their four-year lease when they signed it. Still, it happened sooner than they expected. The business first opened in March of 2025.
The closure announcement on social media leaves the door open for the business to continue operating in the future, but so far the plan is simply to keep the brand alive — it may not take the same form its customers have come to know.
"We're taking the time to thinking about what the next chapter looks like," the announcement says. "We do not have immediate plans to relocate, but we're not ready to let go of the vision. We're 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."
Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) is the local government corporation leading light rail development, also called Project Connect. It is working with businesses and families that are required to relocate, in order to determine eligibility for reimbursements of moving costs, expenses in finding a replacement property, and costs re-establishing the business.
All these factors mean reimbursements vary for different businesses; there is not a simple payment structure, though a relocation brochure by ATP sets a cap of $33,200 "for expenses actually incurred in relocating and reestablishing at a replacement site."
When Hallum and du Plessis say they are open to ideas, they really mean it: the post asks viewers to reach out with ideas, opportunities to collaborate, or even just a feeling that they want to be involved.
"There are many ways to build something meaningful, and we're excited to see where this leads," they wrote.
1972 Pub is located at 2530 Guadalupe St. Operating hours are 4-10 pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4-11 pm Fridays, 11 am to 11 pm Saturdays, and 11 am to 9 pm Sundays.
