We love to spotlight our Certified Diamond Dealer partners and some reasons why you need to visit their stores. If you haven’t been to a card store lately and are in the Wisconsin area, make sure to visit our Featured Retailer.

Sports Dome
6916 Green Bay Road
Kenosha, WI 53142
(262)697-9288
Email:   [email protected]
Website: www.sportsdomekenosha.com
Click HERE to “Like” Sports Dome on Facebook
Monday – Friday 10:00AM-7:00PM, Saturday 10:00AM-5:00PM, and Sunday 11:00AM-4:00PM

Vera Maalouf cuts the ribbon to open Sports Dome in Kenosha, WI.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Vera Maalouf since she started her business and I have always been impressed by how professional she is. She takes the business very serious and works very hard to make sure her collectors are always satisfied. I have really enjoyed partnering with her on some promotions through the years and she has done an amazing job representing the Upper Deck brand. Here is her story:

“I had worked in the banking industry for most of my career, but I took 20 years off to raise my family. When I decided to re-enter the industry, I had a tough time with it having been away for so long. It was Christmas break and I was visiting my kids in Chicago in 2004. I remember shopping with them at the Field of Dreams shop on Michigan Avenue and they were going crazy over the New York Yankee cards and memorabilia. It was then that I thought about opening a shop of my own. I did some extensive research on the collectibles industry and our local market first. After I was committed, we opened Sports Dome in June, 2005.

“The shop began as mainly a card and autographed memorabilia shop and little by little expanded into new lines of sports collectibles, fan gear, stadium gift items, NFL jerseys, and this past year, we have added an exclusive line of NFL and NHL apparel. It was important to me to keep the store clean so mothers felt like it was a nice place to bring their kids.

Sports Dome is a huge retail sports store that is clean and well lit.

“We have a lot of different product lines in the shop, but we work hard to do it right. With quality merchandise and great customer care, we have been successful with the business. We know most of our customers by their first name and we take the time to get to know them, their families and their stories. We are open seven days a week, with staff who are very knowledgeable on the hobby. We have also expanded into customized framing of jersey and autographed pieces. We pride ourselves on the superb quality for the framing business.

“We host a variety of events at the shop with case breaks and rip parties for newly released sports cards products. We give away lots of prizes to just about everyone who visits on those special nights; especially the kids. We host live trading card auctions at the shop every other Saturday with 20-30 card collectors in attendance. One of the most unique events we host quarterly is the opportunity to our exclusive card collectors to set up at the shop by invite only for a card show and present their collections. On that day they can sell, buy or trade with other customers at the shop. It is kind of like our own trading card show and everyone really enjoys it.

Two customers hold their breath as they hope to be the winner of an in store giveaway at Sports Dome!

“Our customers really enjoy when we bring players into the shop as well. We have brought in athletes like Chris Harris from the Chicago Bears, Paul Hornung and Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers and many more. It is exciting for us to see our fans interact with the players they love to collect.

Vera and Paul Hornung take time out from a busy signing to say "cheese!"

Super Bowl Champ Aaron Rodgers signs for Sports Dome customers at a private off site signing.

A young Bears fans is initially intimidated by Chris Harris, but later warms up to him. The athletes look much bigger in person!

“We also host the Boy Scouts through the MLPA program at the shop. We do a nice presentation for them about the fun and value of collecting. We encourage them to go through our single cards and pick out players they would like to collect. It is a lot of fun for us to help educate kids about the hobby. Another way we give back is by donating memorabilia items throughout the year to local schools and other charities.

Being active in the community is very important to Vera at Sports Dome. Here Boy Scouts learn about collecting at the shop.

“We are one of the major sponsors at a long-standing event in town, called ‘Sports Night.’ The event is hosted and sponsored by the Holy Rosary Church where two athletes (male and female) are recognized. There are awards and the event is attended by approximately 600 people. The event features a variety of athletes who share their positive life experiences and Bobby Hull was a huge hit at the event last year.

“We are also working at this time on a large benefit for a local high school. We are consigning several items from the shop for a benefit of the Indian Trails Academy athletic program where we heavily discount items to help the school make money for this great cause. We also donate some items for the event as well.

“The event I’m most excited about right now however is our ‘Rare Sports Card Exhibit’ coming to the shop on Sunday, March 4 from 12:00PM-5:00PM. One of our private collectors is an Upper Deck Diamond Club member and he will be showcasing his amazing collection of rare trading cards. With rare autograph cards from athletes like Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan and an amazing collection of other extremely limited cards, we think it will be a really memorable event for every level of collector. Entrance to the exhibit is free, but we ask guests bring two non-perishable food items per person to attend this special event. We will donate those items to a local charity. We hope you come down for this event or just to see the shop!”

Thanks Vera! I would like to share that I know the collector who will be displaying his trading cards at the exhibit and I really want to encourage fans in the area to attend on March 4. He is a really great person and he will have you laughing one minute and totally inspired the next. His trading card collection is absolutely amazing and it is the type of experience you should not miss. You just do not get to see this many limited cards like this in one place very often, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.