Canadian Local Card Shop of the Week: Stadium Sports Cards (Blenheim, ON)

November 12, 2019

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Scott McCharles and Jim Robertson started “The Stadium” with one major concept in mind: spreading their love for the hobby. Over the years, Scott has taken full ownership of the store and has continued to innovate and grow the card collecting community in his area. Though “The Stadium” has been very active over the last 30 years, they are about to expand even more.

I recently caught up with Scott to discuss the big changes coming and also get his pulse on the hobby in Ontario.

Canadian Local Card Shop of the Week is brought to you by Universal Distribution, Canada’s premier distributor of CCG’s, sports cards and non-sports cards, trading card games, role-playing games, comics, toys, figurines and more.

JOEY SHIVER – Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Scott. Can you tell us a little about your collecting background and what led to your decision to open Stadium Sports Cards?

SCOTT MCCHARLES – “The Stadium” is the dream of most Canadian kids. We played competitive sports (especially hockey) and collecting cards of our sports heroes was second nature. I have always been a sports card nut (Dave Keon was my guy) and in 1985, I started trading and selling doubles and key rookies. My profession kept me from taking the hobby into a business but in 1989, one of my hockey buddies, Jim Robertson, had the vision to do both and “The Stadium” officially opened.

We championed an atmosphere that catered to both the vintage and new sports card collector. Even with our tempered operating hours, the store was an instant success. In the early 2000s, I became the sole proprietor. My collecting has changed as I get more satisfaction now seeing my customers pull monster hits. It is like a badge of honor seeing these monster hits getting pulled here. I was quoted once in a Beckett Hockey article on the store as saying, “I enjoy collecting the friends I have made in this hobby” and that holds true to this very day!

JS –Can you tell us a little about your stores, your setup and what type of inventory you carry? Also, what services do you provide?

SM– I would say in today’s brick and mortar world, we have become very unique as The Stadium is actually a sports card store. Our focus has always been sports cards and 30-plus years later, it still is. No gaming days/nights. We have sports cards trade days/nights. We have sport card singles (1,000,000+) in stock each and every day. Our showcases are full of vintage to new cards. Hockey is tops (from new to a huge selection of pre-’70’s and ’80s O-Pee-Chee singles), but we also have a very decent inventory of baseball (OPC and Topps) as well.

People coming in the store for the first time look at our wall of singles and are just amazed. The smiles on their faces tell the complete story. The Stadium’s huge inventory of singles is well known and attracts collectors from Sarnia, Windsor, London and even Toronto and collectors from neighboring states. Naturally, we carry all the newest products (packs, boxes, cases) and also carry a very extensive inventory of collecting supplies.

JS – You are located in Ontario but are geographically close to Detroit and Cleveland. When it comes to the “home team,” who would you say your collectors focus on?

SM – We are located in Blenheim, Ontario (municipality of Chatham-Kent) and we are straight across Lake Erie from Cleveland and 50 minutes from Detroit. The Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons, and Lions have their following, as do the Cavs, Browns, and Indians. But we are still in Southwest Ontario so the Blue Jays and Leafs have just as many fans – if not more.

Hockey fans today like all the stars and with local kids playing in Philly (my fav team), Calgary, and Vancouver. Plus, with more TV coverage, any or all teams can be the favorites. And, yes, although the Washington Nationals won the World Series. We like to think the Expos just did!

JS: I see that you have a breaking page associated with the store, Stadium’s Group Breaks. When did you incorporate breaking and how successful has it been for your store?

SM – Yes, we are a UD Authorized Group Breaker and got into the breaking scene very early, as we were one of the originals breaker champions on hobbyinsider.net and also having innovative breaks in the store. We were ground breakers on moving the breaks away from just the team breaks and many of our ideas are utilized by thousands of group breaks found online today. The online stuff is fun, but for us, nothing beats breaking products in the store and having the participants actually opening the product. Let’s just say customers get on my case if I don’t run them frequently enough.

We target product release dates but also special dates like the store anniversary where we do group breaks and offer product at $1 over cost. Follow our site as big news is coming!

JS – Something else I saw on your Facebook page was Stadium Chancer? Can you tell us about that?

SM – Innovation always drives success and Chancers allow collectors who would not normally buy the higher end stuff like The Cup or Superlative, an opportunity to buy a chance of a spot to win one of these cool products. We offer an inexpensive chance to win/own a high-end product and people love it. It offers collectors an inexpensive opportunity to win higher-end and generally expensive cool products. Innovative ways to get more people enjoying the hobby is what it is all about.

JS – Your shop Facebook page stays very up to date with new products, big hits, and general news. How important is social media when it comes to running a small business?

SM –Social media has become more than just an avenue for you to connect with friends. My vision has always been to champion that the hobby is about more than just cards. It is about collectors enjoying this great hobby with each other, having fun and making lifelong friendships. From a business perspective, social media offers an excellent opportunity to promote the hobby and advertise your business. But more importantly, tell the story of the fun the hobby brings.

We focus more on sharing the stories and big hits of our customers, keeping “social” in social media. It also provides an avenue to keep us directly connected with the manufacturers. I am friends with Chris at UD, Chris at Panini, Greg at Leaf, Susan at Topps, and Brian at PC but it also keeps me connected with Ultra Pro, BCW, my distributors, my buddies who own other stores, and keeps us up to date on hobby interests.

JS – Panini just teased an entry into the hockey side of collecting with Score Hockey. Have you seen heard about that? What are your thoughts on Panini stepping into Hockey?

SM – I am aware of two-card packs featuring Kravtsov and Kakko. Panini is experiencing successes in the baseball market and there are customers who love the Panini offerings. And that is what it is all about, what the customer wants. I support any new innovative offerings as we want customers interested. Although you may argue it is different, look at the success of products like Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire. Collectors like all different types of products and it stands to reason that people will once again enjoy Panini hockey offerings. Leaf and PC have success in the hockey market and I support Panini or anyone who wants to participate in the hockey market. It is, after all, the greatest sport in the world.

JS – What is one thing you think is really going well in the sports card hobby right now? On the contrary, what is one thing you would change, whether from an industry or local perspective?

SM – What is going well is that participation in the hobby is booming! The online crowd is coming out from the basement and experiencing enjoying the hobby in person and they are loving it. The products are delivering some great value. There are some great RC’s and the vintage collecting community is growing as the on-line experience is demonstrating the extraordinary values the vintage cards are now realizing. Baseball and basketball products are also booming right now.

Allocation of products restricts growth potential for us brick and mortar stores but the overall health of the hobby is awesome. Personally, the allocation limitations are hurtful but the biggest one thing I would like to see change is easy – online scammers. With the popularity of the hobby and the easy access to becoming a seller, the bad element has easy access and this hurts the hobby. Even if this helps the local brick and mortar stores, as we are a place for people to actually see, feel, and make an informed decision about a card, the scammer has infiltrated our great hobby and this hurts everyone.

JS – In closing, can you tell us about any sales or upcoming in-store events you have scheduled for the next couple of months?

SM – We champion innovation, so there are always new and fun activities popping up at the store from Mega Breaks to pack wars to flash sales. We participate in all the manufacturer events and we have trade days the first Saturday of each month. Our $1 Over Cost Anniversary Sale is world famous but our biggest news is that The Stadium will be open full time starting in January.

We have always tempered our hours to accommodate my career, but after 35 years as an executive in the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection profession, I am retiring in December and my focus will be on taking The Stadium into the next chapter. We have already started with our online platforms. We have some very cool and innovative initiatives coming up, so be sure to follow Stadium Sports Cards on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Stadium’s Group Breaks so you don’t miss out.