Play It Again Sports to open Fort Collins location June 8.

FORT COLLINS – A retired Boulder police officer and his wife are opening a Play It Again Sports resale store in Fort Collins, the third location for the franchised store along the northern Front Range.

The store officially will open June 8 in a 3,000-square-foot space that had been a high-end wine bar at 3600 Mitchell Drive, Suite 90.

Cory Nicholas told BizWest on Thursday that after he retired from the Boulder force in August 2021, his wife, Marcy, convinced him they needed something else to do. “Besides,” he said, “our kids had grown up using equipment from Play It Again Sports because it’s really hard and expensive to outfit kids especially if you have more than one.”

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Play It Again Sports has more than 270 franchised stores in the United States and Canada, as well as an e-commerce shop online. Its physical locations include 653 S. Broadway in Boulder and 1067 S. Hover St., Unit G, in Longmont. The brand provides athletes of every age a place to buy, sell and trade their quality used sports and fitness equipment. Offerings include football equipment, baseball gloves and bats, hockey gear, golf clubs, soccer gear, lacrosse equipment, treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, benches, weights and more.

As part of grand-opening offerings, the first 25 people in line on opening day June 8 will receive a $25 gift card, and all those in line will have a chance to win a stand-up paddleboard. All customers making a purchase on June 8 and June 9 will receive a Play It Again Sports water bottle, as well as a coupon on June 8 and June 10  that’s worth 10% off their next purchase and a coupon on June 9 and June 11 that’s worth $5 off their next purchase of $25 or more. The store will hold a Disc Mania event on June 10 and have free food from Blackjack Pizza and will offer double points on all buys and sales June 11.

“I’m thrilled to open my business in such a warm, welcoming, sports-oriented community like Fort Collins,” said Cory Nicholas in a news release. “I’m sure everyone will love the breadth of new and used merchandise we provide. We’re excited to open for the families in Fort Collins so that we can support their children’s activities and save the parents both time and money.”

Unlike a typical consignment store, no appointment is necessary to sell sports and fitness equipment to Play It Again Sports. Plus, the store pays consumers on the spot for goods it purchases from them.

Play It Again Sports is franchised by Minneapolis-based Winmark – The Resale Company (Nasdaq: WINA), which also franchises Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Style Encore and Music Go Round. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Winmark had 1,295 franchises in operation and more than 2,800 available territories. An additional 57 franchises have been awarded but are yet to open. Its resale concepts allow for quality used clothing and sports and fitness equipment to end up in someone else’s hands, rather than being thrown into a landfill.

The franchise will not be the first for Play It Again in Fort Collins. A franchise location existed there until at least early 2013 when the agreement was not renewed. The franchisor sued for violation of trademarks and the franchise agreement.