The College Park City Council voted Tuesday to provide financial assistance to Rally House — a sports memorabilia company that’s set to open a store in the vacant space under Landmark Apartments.
The council will provide the company with a business retention and attraction assistance grant that could be up to $130,000. This amount will cover about 11 percent of buildout, signage, facade improvements and other capital costs, while Rally House will cover the remaining $1.3 million, according to city documents.
The store will open on Baltimore Avenue on Oct. 17 in the space previously occupied by Target, according to the company’s website.
Rally House is a sports apparel store with more than 250 locations and an official retail partnership with the Big Ten, according to city documents. City staff believes the store will be a regional attraction for city residents and sports fans. Rally House is tentatively set to be committed to the vacant space for seven years, the documents said.
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Michael Williams, the city’s director of economic development, said at Tuesday’s meeting that Rally House was attracted to College Park because of University of Maryland athletics’ prominence around the country and its involvement with the Big Ten and Under Armour.
“It really was a perfect match to me for what the property could be used for,” Williams said.
Dan Zmijewski, the general counsel for Rally House, emphasized during Tuesday’s meeting that the company prioritizes housing local teams and vendors at each location.
“Each Rally House you go into should be a different Rally House because it’s going to be the stuff that you guys like in your area,” Zmijewski said.
The company has seen on-campus sales from other Rally House stores range from around $1 million to $3 million annually, depending on the location, team performance and fan passion, according to city documents.
District 3 council member Stuart Adams said he supported the grant because of the amount of revenue the city gains from this university’s athletic events.
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“This is a tie into that [relationship], which helps strengthen that ecosystem,” Adams said. “To me, it’s equitable in that context.”
Several council members expressed concerns about the grant on Tuesday.
District 1 council member Jacob Hernandez said shopping centers in northern College Park could use the funding. He questioned the need for more developments downtown when there are establishments that already exist and need assistance.
District 2 council member Llatetra Brown Esters was the only council member to vote against the funding. She requested the city’s grant to Rally House not exceed $100,000.
“We have talked recently about being mindful of the amount that we are spending on these opportunities, and I’d like to be able to set aside money for smaller businesses who may also need funds because we don’t have unlimited funding,” Esters said.
News of businesses such as Raising Cane’s and The Greene Turtle coming to College Park has generated excitement in the community, according to District 4 council member and Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell. She hopes investing in Rally House will create a similar reaction among residents.
