Marshfield / Wisconsin / United States
The Sports Den is an independent retailer of all-season sporting goods. Some of the products are: cross country skis, downhill skis, snowshoes, snowboards, winter apparel ( boots, bags, clothing ), travel ski/bike racks, bicycles, exercise equipment, tennis/racquetball equipment, swimming, camping, nutritional and protein supplements, and sporting good rentals. The Sports Den also has a service and repair shop. The Sports Den is unique because their business is very weather dependent. For that reason, the Sports Den has expanded its product line to include exercise equipment, such as: Schwinn Airdyne bikes and Bowflexes. The Sports Den is constantly educating themselves on current trends such as: snowboarding, snowshoeing, and various technologies, to stay competitive within the industry. In 1973, Denny Nelson and John Damrau started Nelson Bike and Camping on 14th Street in Marshfield. At the time, the store focused on selling Firestone bicycles and Jay-co pop-up campers. In 1975, Dennis Riedel began working at Nelson Bike and Camping part-time, learning the business and starting their cross country ski line. Eventually the store began to move more towards sporting goods and by 1977, they got out of the camper business. In 1979, Denny Nelson sold the business to Skip Perkins, who renamed the store to Perkins Sports and also purchased the current store location and expanded the business. In 1998, Skip Perkins decided to retire and there was a transfer of ownership to Dennis Riedel, the current owner. At that time, Perkins Sports was renamed to the Sports Den.
