Exciting news for Sports fans in the North East of England is that for the first time ever the Larry O’Brien NBA Trophy will be visiting Newcastle for one day only.
The world famous Trophy will be on display at Hardwood Ventures on 4-6 High Bridge Street Newcastle NE1 1EN from 2pm-8pm on Friday 19th May.
This comes at an exciting time for Hardwood Ventures as the Trophy will showcase where their new store will be fully open from next month.
Emma McMillan co-owner of Hardwood Ventures said “We are delighted that we are able to host the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the Newcastle and that it will give basketball fans the opportunity to see this iconic trophy for themselves. Visitors to the store on Friday are going to be entertained by DJ Flint & Steel from 5pm and gain a flavour of what the store is going to be like when fully open next month. We’d like to see as many people in the store as possible and it’s a fantastic opportunity to have your picture taken with the trophy.”
Hardwood Ventures started out online in 2011, as Basketball Megastore, and opened their first store in Newcastle in February 2015. As a basketball specialist, they’ve always adhered to the idea that while the physical game of basketball is obviously important, there’s also a much wider cultural importance of the sport within art, fashion, and music, in communities across the world.
They’ve always seen that as an important factor when building their business in terms of how they present the business, what they stock and in how they interact with their audience. They believe that has set them apart from others operating in the same sphere of retail, and helped them to grow as a business.
As fans and players of the game themselves they have a deep appreciation and understanding of the game, which helps them connect on a very personal level with their customers, and to be part of that growing basketball community in the North East, and the UK as a whole.
The increasing visibility of the NBA in the UK is also helping business growth. The success of hosting an fantasy NBA game in London each year helps to develop the audience for basketball, and to improve awareness of the sport. The NBA have also been extremely helpful in ensuring they’re able to make the right connections between their business, and the brands and suppliers who are creating the products that they sell.
In June 2017 they are going to be able to open a new store in Newcastle, in a better location and with more space to develop their business both in terms of physical retail, and also their online presence. Moving from a single-room store, to having a whole building to themselves is both going to be liberating, and integral to plans that they have for the future of the business.