Colorado Avalanche fans didn’t wait until the morning to get new team gear to celebrate the team’s Stanley Cup victory. Dick’s Sporting Goods stores open on Sunday evening were busy.
“Avs fans have been passionate all year, and last night they really showed their true colors,” said Jessica Gillman, community marketing manager for the Colorado company.
Several of the Denver-area stores opened after the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 in Tampa and won the Stanley Cup, the team’s third championship since 1996. Shops stayed open until Sunday midnight and opened at 7am. two hours earlier on Monday.
“It was very busy, which is a great thing,” Gillman said. “Everyone was excited. You could just feel this good energy.”
Gillman hadn’t heard if any of the stores were out of stock. She said Dick’s ran “super low” on the shirts of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar last week. Makar, the young defenseman, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player.
A Sportsfan athletic apparel store at Denver’s 16th Street Mall was waiting for a new shipment of Avalanche T-shirts Monday morning.
“Because everyone expected to win on Friday night, practically everything sold out: all of our t-shirts, most of our hats,” said Albert Batres, deputy manager of the store.
Most of the jerseys are also sold out, he added.
The Avalanche lost 3-2 to the Lightning in Game 5 in Denver on Friday and returned to Tampa to win the championship.
Batres said Sportsfans stores on Monday are expecting a new shipment of t-shirts and other items in a few days. He said fans who showed up to shop for shirts on Monday morning took it in stride as he explained new supplies were on the way.
“They say ‘OK’. You are just happy. You can’t really be mad,” Batres said because the Avalanche won.
Sportsfan stores in the Denver area had extra people working to handle the crowds.
“Not just because of the Avs, but also because the (Colorado) Rockies have the (Los Angeles) Dodgers in town at the same time. It’s going to be pretty crowded,” Batres said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods ordered goods for the Avalanche Stanley Cup in advance so that the stores would be ready once the finals were over.
“We get a shipment with the logos a few days beforehand,” Gillman said. “You just hold your breath and hope your team wins so you can get all that merchandise out the door.”