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WOOD RIVER - Wood River’s new sporting goods store, Quig's Sports Emporium, is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, June 8, 2024, located at 59 E. Ferguson Ave. in the city’s downtown
Jason Quigley and Morgan Jerman with Quig’s Sport Emporium shared more about the business and this weekend’s Grand Opening on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com.
The Grand Opening festivities on Saturday begin with a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. Jerman said Gateway Grizzlies Baseball will be giving away eight sets of four tickets every 15 minutes at the Grand Opening, and are bringing their mascot “Izzy the Grizzlie” for photos and meet-and-greets. She added there will be “tons of giveaways” including everything from baskets to oil changes and more, as well as hot dogs, chips, soda, and more.
Quig's Sports Emporium is a self-described "buy/sell/trade sports equipment store," which serves as a "one stop shop for anything sports," according to their Facebook page. In addition to selling over two U-Hauls' worth of sporting goods at their Grand Opening, Quigley said they'll also be buying items and doing consignments.
Quigley said the idea for the business came from his own childhood experience of wanting to play sports but being unable to afford the equipment. With Quig's Sports Emporium, he and Jerman look to give the next generation of local athletes the same opportunities a similar store gave him growing up.
“I wanted to play ice hockey for school, but unfortunately couldn’t afford to play ice hockey - ice hockey’s super expensive,” Quigley said. “If it wasn’t for a store that’s local and similar to what I’m doing … I wouldn’t have gotten the equipment I needed to play.”
“Once I got the opportunity to do so and the drive to do so, we kind of wanted to do the same thing - help kids who can’t play sports because of money,” Quigley added. “If we can get some kids into ice skates or a tennis racket in their hand that they might not be able to afford, then we’ve got kids playing sports that might not have played sports.”
Given his prior coaching experience in Wood River, he said he’s seen firsthand the need for sporting equipment among young athletes - he even recalled gifting his own cleats to one of his players who didn’t have cleats to practice in.
Born and raised in the East Alton-Wood River area, Quigley added that he always had Wood River in mind for the store’s location.
“It’s a good community to do it in because there’s a lot of sports-loving families in Wood River and surrounding areas,” Quigley said. “Wood River’s always kind of been the hub for it.”
To stay updated and find out more about Quig’s Sport Emporium and their Grand Opening event, visit their Facebook page or see the full interview with Quigley and Jerman at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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