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About Us
History of Sports Zone
Sports Zone got is start in June 1997 as Engraving Etc. in my hometown of Highmore SD a small town of 800 people. Our start was awards and engraving for local customers and area schools which we still do today. The holiday season got closer and I starting thinking about selling sports memorabilia and team/player plaques. The decision was made to put up a display on weekends during November and December in Pierre South Dakota at the Pierre Mall. Over the next couple of years I went to Pierre and Aberdeen during the holiday seasons and special events selling sports memorabilia and sports plaques.
In April 2001 the decision was made to open what is now Sports Zone in the Pierre Mall. The opening of the store also increased the product lines the store could offer. We continued to operate a store in Pierre until May of 2003 at which time it was decided to move the store to a bigger market and that choice was Aberdeen.
Sports Zone opened in July 2003 in the Montrose Plaza carrying a larger selection of NFL teams and merchandise. June 2004 saw us getting ready for the move across the street to the Lakewood Mall into our largest store yet at 2100 square feet. After some minor remodeling and a fresh coat of paint Sports Zone re-opened in July 2004 at the Lakewood Mall. Sports Zone went through some major changes with the move to the mall location keeping us all very busy during the fall and holiday season.
After surviving the holiday season the seeds were planted and plans of opening an additional store somewhere in South Dakota started. After looking around the decision was made to open our 2nd store in June 2005 in Mitchell South Dakota. In 2006 the hard decision was made to close the Mitchell store allowing me to concentrate on a bigger store in Aberdeen.
Continuing to look at expansion, the holiday season of 2007 introduced Sports Zone as a seasonal tenant in Grand Forks North Dakota. A successful season began the planning to be a tenant in the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks in 2008. We opened our smallest store yet at just over 1300 square feet in July 2008. The hiring of general manager Jordan Ohman and surviving the holidays found the 1300 square feet store to small and in January 2009 we moved to our current location just over 2300 square feet.
The year of 2009 brought the toughest decision yet for Sports Zone, the closing of the Aberdeen South Dakota store. We closed the store in May after being in Aberdeen for almost 6 years. That closure gave the opportunity to look at expanding our North Dakota business and in July our Minot location opened.
Sports Zone is one of the very few stores in the area or maybe the country that carries merchandise for all 32 NFL teams. Fans will find what they are looking for all in one location. Along with NFL we carry MLB, NCAA, NASCAR and NBA merchandise. Sports Zone carries many lines of products from the biggest names in the industry.
Over the next several months Sports Zone will become ¿SZ¿. This change will allow us to continue our expansion into more markets and also other lines of sporting goods, apparel and footwear. You will still experience the same customer service you have come to expect over the past 8 years.
We hope you enjoy your shopping experience online and if the chance arises at our store. We always love to hear from our customers and future customers so feel free to email us anytime with your suggestions or comments.
SZ is ¿Your Team Sports Headquarters¿
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