Uptown Sports Cards & Collectibles
Portage Place Skywalk
03-393 Portage Avenue, 885-3377

It was a lifelong passion for sports that lead Rick Lefort into the retail game. A self-described “sports nut”, Rick and his wife Laurie have owned Uptown Sports since 2003.

“I had six months off from my previous job and I had to decide what I was going to do,” Rick explains inside his eclectic shop stacked from floor to ceiling with jerseys, cards, hats, mugs, shirts, pennants, toques and everything else for the sports enthusiast. “I was always interested in trading cards and I was in the process of completing some old sets I had, when this idea came to me.”

Walking into the store, you’ll see just how much that passion translates into his work. The moment you enter, you’re hit with dozens of colours and logos in every size, shape and form. From 1 to 101, there is something for every sports lover (even those of the four-legged variety).

Rick says that he did his research carefully. “This is a small town and you can’t saturate the market. A lot of card trading stores went under in the 90s because there were so many of them.”

He decided that just selling cards wouldn’t be enough, and so he branched out into accessories, paraphernalia and all kinds of sports memorabilia. “We’re now about 90 per cent apparel and 10 per cent cards and now source from about 35 different vendors.”

He adds that though trading cards experienced their peak in the 90s, there are still a lot of serious collectors out there. Uptown’s success is a testament to that. Over the years, the business has expanded their space four times. “We kept needing more room,” Rick says. “And we’re still going strong.”
   
Rick credits the downtown office crowd for a lot of his success. “They’re my most regular customers and they are truly passionate about this stuff. We’re also in a very high traffic location and that has really helped us.”

He also credits his “very smart wife” for his success. Laurie says she worked full time for the first three years the business existed, but has since quit and now manages the store full time with her husband.

“This doesn’t feel like work,” Laurie says. “While there is stress, it’s very different than the stress you get from being in an office. Here everything we do is to build our business.”

And what does a sports expert think about a potential return of the NHL to Winnipeg?

"It's definitely coming," says Rick confidently. "It's going to be such a great thing for our city and our downtown."