SPORTS COVE CELEBRATES 45 YEARS, WITH NEW OWNER
Since the mid-’70s, Vacaville residents who wanted to learn how to scuba dive or needed skiing or snowboarding gear for trips up to Tahoe have likely gone to one place: Sports Cove.
The East Monte Vista Avenue store, which has thwarted off competition from other sporting good giants, is celebrating its 45th anniversary Saturday with sales, a barbecue and a changing of the guards from its previous owners to its new one.
Jake Chase took over the shop in May from founders Betty and Lloyd Wiley after being a customer and participant in its scuba programs for several years.
“I live in the Bay Area but I’ve been going up to Tahoe for years,” he said. “Every time I drive by, I noticed them for a little while before I actually made a stop in there. Once I started going in there, I realized how amazing the programs they have there (are) and started going on some of their trips with them and doing some of their classes.”
When the opportunity came for Chase to take over the shop, he took it.
Betty Wiley believes the store is in good hands.
“He has new ideas, new energy,” she said. “I just think that he’ll grow what we have there. We’re giving him all the suggestions of what we think will help and (be) best for the Sports Cove.”
Lloyd founded Sports Cove in 1975 after retiring from the military. While he was stationed in Germany, he learned how to ski and “just loved it,” according to Betty.
“(He) decided that’s the type of business he’d like to go into,” she said.
Lloyd was stationed at Travis Air Force Base at the time of his retirement, so he decided to open his new store 17 minutes away in Alamo Plaza.
Sports Cove initially operated where Journey Coffee Co is now and primarily sold skiing equipment. Scuba gear was added to their inventory not long after, and once snowboarding exploded in popularity, they added that too.
“Snowboarding wasn’t even in the market when we opened,” Betty said. “It’s done very well.”
At various times, the store has also sold baseball, tennis and other team sports equipment, but the primary focus has always been the triad of scuba, skiing and snowboarding. The Wileys even opened a second store in Fairfield, but it closed after five years.
In 1985, Sports Cove was forced to move out of Alamo Plaza but found a new home at 1410 E. Monte Vista Ave. where it has resided ever since.
During that time, Betty said other stores selling skiing and snowboarding equipment came and went, including big-box retailers like Sport Chalet and Sports Authority, both of which closed their Vacaville locations in 2016 after filing for bankruptcy. Yet, Sports Cove still stands.
“We just kept working at it, and now it seems like we’re the only little store in town that carries what we do,” she said.
Even with the competition from online retailers, one thing that sets Sports Cove apart is that it also offers classes in scuba diving which teach students everything from boat diving to emergency oxygen provision to underwater photography. The diving classes also offer opportunities to travel to dive in places like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Red Sea.
“We take people traveling, and I think that’s probably what’s made the scuba so strong,” Betty said.
Chase said Sports Cove also provides service for people who want to get their equipment repaired.
“Amazon can’t provide a service to do a Regulator,” he said. “They can’t actually teach you how to be in a pool and learn how to scuba dive, so those are things that I don’t know that you’ll ever be able to replace online.”
Betty also said that offering equipment for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding as well as summer activities like scuba diving has allowed the store to be successful year-round.
“They’ve always complemented each other,” she said.
One thing Betty said has kept the store going for so long is the loyalty of the customers.
“Most customers are there because they’re doing something they like to do,” she said. “They enjoy the service and the help they get.”
A few years ago Lloyd was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which limited his activity. Nonetheless, he would still work in the store on a recliner and the customers would frequently check in on him.
“People would come in and sit down and visit with him and talk to him,” Betty said. “He just enjoyed people for all those years so much.”
With Lloyd and Betty turning 80 and 77 this year respectively, they decided it was time to retire.
“We had no idea anyone else wanted to do the business because it’s not easy,” Betty said. “We were always open seven days a week and always there for anyone. They could call us from home, and we’d go down to help them.”
However, Chase volunteered for the opportunity and immediately began putting his own spin on the business. His team remodeled the upstairs, increased the scuba inventory, added more classes in areas such as dance, added a new trip and travel section and wants to grow the store’s online presence.
It was a challenge for Chase to take over in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he said the store has been pulling through.
“We have such a good following,” he said.
One of the highlights for Chase has been teaching scuba classes. He said a police officer came in not long ago to buy scuba equipment and raved about the feeling of scuba diving.
“He said, ‘You know, Jake, when you’re underneath the water, there’s no riots, there’s no fires, there’s no sirens,’” Chase said, “‘It’s so quiet, and it’s all about me. I’m so present…I would pay anything to have more of that.’”
“It’s really nice to be able to have a part of that in somebody’s life, to be able to take something out that’s stressful — especially with what we’re going through now — and changing it into something positive that we can really enjoy,” Chase added.
This Saturday, Sports Cove will be celebrating its anniversary with a sale of 45 percent off everything in the store during its operating hours from noon to 5 p.m. On top of that, the store will be hosting a barbecue and honoring the Wileys from 3 to 5 p.m. in the parking lot. Everyone is invited, including past employees.
As for the future of Sports Cove, Betty said the property was sold to the neighboring Best Western and predicts they will expand in another year or two. This would prompt another move for the store, but she anticipates it will keep on going under Chase’s leadership.
Overall, Betty is proud of the store’s growth over 45 years.
“It’s been a long ride, but it’s been an enjoyable one,” she said.