From Boots to Fins, Springdale’s Got the Niche

When people think of Springdale, they don’t usually think of shopping. But the city known for chickens is also home to some unique retailers.

If you want scuba equipment or cowboy boots, Springdale is the place to go in Northwest Arkansas.

Take a dive

Open for almost three decades, Sportsco, at 2079 W. Sunset Ave., is the oldest dive shop in Arkansas.

Jack Dick, who was director of the pharmacy at Springdale Memorial Hospital, decided in 1970 to leave that job and open Sportsco, which he then called Scuba Hut. He’s been there ever since, teaching people how to scuba dive and selling a wide variety of sporting goods.

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made Beaver Lake in the early 1960s, Northwest Arkansas suddenly had a clear-water diving lake, and Dick saw the potential the lake had as a site for recreational divers.

Now, divers come from as far away as Illinois to swim with the catfish in Beaver Lake, Dick says.

The business has weathered a lot of competition from upstart dive shops that didn’t survive.

“Fourteen have come and gone since I’ve been here,” Dick says.

In addition to a 7,000-SF retail store, Dick had a 35-by-60-foot diving pool constructed adjacent to the store eight years ago. The diving division of Sportsco is called AquaTrek.

“A dive shop that’s 30 years old is extremely unique,” Dick says. “But it’s a unique operation. That’s why we diversified. We don’t put all our eggs in one basket.”

Dick, a certified diving instructor who has done more than 6,000 dives, is one of four diving instructors at Sportsco.

The business offers diving classes for $175. Students must purchase their own snorkel, mask, fins and boots, which can total another $150. If would-be divers just want to test the waters with the diving equipment to see if they’re interested, they can enroll in a “discover scuba” class for $15.

Sportsco also organizes about four scuba diving trips a year to exotic locations. Upcoming diving trips include Bonaire (an island 45 miles off the coast of Venezuela), Oct. 2-9, for $1,400, and Saba (an island east of the U.S. Virgin Islands), Feb. 26-March 5, for $2,150. The trips include airfare from Tulsa, hotel room for seven nights, transfers and six days of dives (at Bonaire) and five days of diving (at Saba) from two tank boats. The Saba price also covers an overnight hotel stay in Puerto Rico.

For a diving trip, an oxygen tank, regulator and buoyancy-control vest can be rented from Sportsco (for $35 per day) or at dive sites in the Caribbean (for $50 per day). To buy the entire set-up would cost around $650, Dick says.

Made for walkin’

Legend has it that cowboy boots (referred to simply as “boots” until the 1920s) date back to the Spanish conquistadors. Supposedly, the high heels helped elevate the stocky Spaniards so they could glare eye-to-eye with their friends and enemies.

The Americanized version – that is, cowboy boots – is as much a part of Springdale as the Rodeo of the Ozarks.

Four stores in Springdale specialize in cowboy boots, with prices ranging from $25 to about $700 per pair.

Alligator, shark, ostrich, elephant and anteater. No, they’re not critters at the Wild Wilderness Drive-Thru Safari in Gentry. They’re skins that are used to make cowboy boots. And all of them are available at stores in Springdale.

Two of the largest boot stores in the city are owned by members of the Mathias family. Boots & Spurs Western Outfitters in Center Point Place (formerly the Ozark Factory Outlet Stores) has more than 4,000 pairs of cowboy boots in stock, including anteater boots for $700.

Mathias Boot & Shoe Store, at 812 N. Thompson St., stocks a wide selection of work and Western boots, including alligator hides on sale for $450 per pair. Both Mathias stores carry all the major brands.

Boot City, 2940 W. Sunset Ave., has been owned by Stan Overstreet since 1994. The store carries Western boots by Ariat, Justin, Tony Lama, Dan Post, Laredo and Lucchese. Boot City also sells work boots and Western clothing.

Cowboy’s Heaven, 1556-A E. Emma Ave., has the benefit of location, at least during the Rodeo of the Ozarks. The store is right across the street from the rodeo grounds.