Meet the guy with a truck full of rentable Wild jerseys near Xcel Energy Center
Need a Minnesota Wild hockey jersey for a game but don't want to throw down a ton of money to buy one? There's an option to rent sweaters outside of Xcel Energy Center.
Noah Beer, who grew up in Prior Lake and is a former Lakers and University of St. Thomas club hockey player himself, tells Bring Me The Sports he's been working on the business concept for over a year and has since launched Tarps Off Jersey Rental, which provides replica jerseys to rent for only $20.
"Took some time to launch the website and making sure our inventory was stocked in time for the home opener," the 26-year-old said.
Twelve fans were wearing Beer's jerseys as they witnessed Minnesota defeat the Florida Panthers 2-0 in last Thursday's season opener. In all, Beer says he has 172 jerseys available to rent. He's able to bring 100 jerseys to games in the back of his pickup truck.
Here's how it works...
Fans select the date and game for reserving any of the jerseys available via its website. Customers have the option to pick up the apparel outside of the arena or have it shipped to them within 30 miles of Xcel Energy Center for a $12.99 shipping fee. Pick up is available for two hours prior to the puck dropping and orders made within 48 hours of game time aren't eligible for shipping.
When the game concludes, jerseys can be returned at the pop-up shop outside of 184 7th St. W. in St. Paul, across the street from the arena. If the jersey isn't returned or damaged, it's dealt with on a case-by-case basis, Beer said.
"You have to create an account, pay for the order using a credit or debit card, sign terms and conditions, and if there's enough significant damage or the jersey isn't returned, a charge follows," he said.
Beer said there isn't a specific fee that comes as it depends on each situation. However, aside from the initial fee of either not returning the jersey or damaging it, there's an additional fee Beer can charge for any money lost until a new product replaces the old one.
Beer said he approached Xcel Energy Center officials to see if he could run the business inside, but says he was turned away as the team only works with corporate sponsors. Due to not having a partnership with the NHL or the Wild, his website doesn't show any logos or mentions of the team name.
What about branching out into other sports?
"Yes, would love to offer some jerseys for the MLB team in town and possibly the NBA as well," Beer said.
"But being a longtime season-ticket holder [of the Wild] and a hockey fan my whole life, I just felt like hockey jerseys present more of a fan experience than other sports jerseys."
