A new venue called Rita Ray’s, which is described as the first women’s sports bar in the North of England, is set to open in Stockport, Greater Manchester, this summer 2026. The bar will be located at the Weir Mill development and is timed to open as major football tournaments begin during the season.
Founder Becky Brown named the bar after her grandparents and decided to open the business after noticing that dedicated spaces to watch women’s sports have not kept up with the growing number of fans. She stated that there is currently nothing like this venue in the North of the country for supporters to gather.
The bar will be located within Weir Mill, a 60 million pound regeneration project led by the developer Capital&Centric. The site features 253 rental apartments and sits underneath the town’s railway viaduct at a location that was originally a cotton works in 1790.
During the day, the venue will be a family-friendly space, but it will change into a social hub at night. The owners plan to host several community groups, including run clubs, book clubs, and quiz nights for local residents to join.
The opening is part of a larger 1 billion pound town centre improvement plan overseen by the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, which appointed Lord Gavin Barwell as its new chair in March 2026. The project comes as interest in women’s sports reached a record high in the UK, with 357 million hours of coverage watched by fans in 2025.
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