Rally House Stores, a sports merchandise company, will replace the former Target at 7501 Baltimore Ave thanks to a grant that the College Park City Council approved on Sept. 10.Â
Rally House Stores will receive a grant from the city of no more than $130,000, according to city documents, while Rally House is spending about $1.3 million on the project. The city funding is to be used for tailoring the location through the buildout of the current store, signage and other costs. Rally House will fund the rest of the construction.Â
Rally House aims to make a big impact on College Park, according to Michael Williams, the city’s director of economic development.
“Preliminarily, Rally House is committed to remaining in College Park for at least seven years, as well as hiring up to 30 employees on a seasonal basis,” Williams said.
Williams said UMD’s membership in the Big Ten is a big reason why Rally House Stores was chosen to fill the vacant storefront.
“It kind of started over the attraction of the Maryland athletics being so prominent throughout the country and being part of the Big Ten right now,” Williams said.Â
Councilmember Llatetra Brown Esters wondered why Rally House chose College Park. In response, Rally House General Counsel Dan Zmijewski replied that it was because the company is committed to giving college students access to sports memorabilia that means something to them and the school they attend.
“We go to lots of colleges because we like to promote the products with colleges,” Zmijewski said. “We like to make the college fans happy with the best product you’ll be able to find.”
Rally House Stores was started as a local shop called Kansas Sampler by Tim and Peg Liebert in 1989, according to the company’s official website. Now the company has hundreds of stores across the country, including some on other college campuses.
The store’s official website states that the College Park location will be opening toward the end of October. The Target that occupied that space closed in May 2023.