That’s certainly been the case for Real Sportscards in Blaine which had people flocking to their soft launch in late November and a grand opening this week.
“We had hundreds of people in line waiting for us to open on Black Friday,” said Real Sportscards CEO Ryan Holland.
“This is a really awesome location,” said Eric Hinderaker of Blaine.
Holland is ecstatic about opening up his third store – the other two are in Champlin and Waupun, Wis. The newest location is close to the National Sports Center and Holland knows that Blaine is a sports mecca.
“There is a very important reason we’re here in Blaine and that’s because Blaine is a huge sports market centered a lot around the National Sports Center,” Holland said. “The National Sports Center is one of the most visited destinations in Minnesota – 4 1/2 million sports visitors a year for all kinds of sports. Soccer, hockey, basketball.”
Trading card business is booming
The trading card business is booming and some can be very lucrative. Holland says there is a huge demand for superstars such as the LA Dodgers Shohei Otani, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.
“There are $5 Victor Wembenyama rookie cards but there are also $100,000 Victor Wembanyama rookie cards,” Holland said. “Shohei rookies sell for great money. He’s got rookie cards ranging from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Key cards could sell for as much as a million dollars for him.”
Minnesota athletes such as the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov and the Timberwolves Anthony Edwards have coveted cards too.
“Kirill is a local star and we make an extra effort to stock all of those products from his rookie year,” Holland said. “I think we’ve got Ant cards in here for $5 and we’ve got Ant cards in here for thousands of dollars.”
“It’s crazy right now”
Real Sportscards is one of the largest trading card retailers on the globe. According to Emil Cienik from Real Sportscards, there is definitely an appetite for these collectibles.
“It’s crazy right now,” Cienik said. “It’s a big mix. You’ve got the nostalgia factor. You’ve got community. It’ such a great community here in Minnesota specifically that rallies around their local sports teams and big players. You’ve got a little bit of investment going on right now.”
Hinderaker recently visited the store. Shopping for cards is something he enjoys.
“I think it’s fun,” Hinderaker said. “Sports, obviously if you look at everything from media deals to attendance, sports is up.
When you look at the rights deals all those kind of things. This is a way for fans to be connected with it.”
Besides sports, other cards are popular too.
“Pokemon is massive right now,” Cienik said. “Pokemon couldn’t be hotter right now. We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary this year which is going to be really epic.”
Bottom line for Holland and Cienik is that they are ecstatic to be in Blaine.
Said Holland: “We know that we’re going to have a lot of visitors here, coming into town for tournaments.”
“The Blaine community has been amazing to be a part of, Cienik said. “We’re super excited to be here and see how it goes.”
