Bel Air Sports Cards To Celebrate Grand Reopening

BEL AIR, MD — Bel Air Sports Cards shuffled the deck, recently moving its location within the town of Bel Air. The new spot features a much larger space as well as a Lego wall and 36-foot card bar. It's a little more than a mile from the spot where the shop began.

Centered around the hobby of collecting, Bel Air Sports Cards sells everything from baseball cards to Fortnite cards.

It began two years ago with a 700-square-foot storefront on Bond Street.

Owner Mel Lundgren envisioned a combined sports bar and card store when he created his business, according to Sports Collectors Daily.

Lundgren, who has been collecting since he was 9, reportedly said the store is "about the bonding experience" since many visitors come in and want to sit down and talk about their collections.

He started the business because he had 2 million cards by the time he retired in 2015; and when he asked his kids if they wanted his collection, there were no takers, Lundgren told Beckett Media.

One of his children played another key role in the development of Bel Air Sports Cards. While he was visiting his son who is an architect, Lundgren said he told him he had been looking at spaces for the shop and was envisioning a store with "something that looks like a sports bar but for cards and collectibles," which he called a kind of "card bar," according to Beckett, the trade publication for collectors. Lundgren said he provided the dimensions, and his son sketched drawings for the business. The store opened in August 2017.

As the community of card collectors grew, more room was needed and so was space for gathering.

Bel Air Sports Cards closed its original location at 130 North Bond Street downtown in July, then reopened a new and improved headquarters at 201 Gateway Drive near Harford Mall.

From 700 square feet on Bond, the shop has grown to 2,000 square feet on Gateway.

In addition to upgrading from a 16-foot card bar to one that is more than double its length, the new store offers more room for gathering and for showcasing the various collections at Bel Air Sports Cards. There's an arcade and party room people can rent out for events.

Lundgren celebrated with a ribbon cutting attended by local officials from the town of Bel Air and Harford County on Thursday, Oct. 3.

This weekend during its grand reopening people are invited to come in for special giveaways and to scope out the new shop Saturday, Oct. 5. There will be free grab bags for children wearing their favorite team shirt and door prizes.

Bel Air Sports Cards is at 201 Gateway Drive. Hours for the grand opening are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5. There is also a family fun night Friday, Oct. 4, for which an RVSP is required.