By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

The Sportshaus ranks as one of the most iconic businesses in Bridgton.

The familiar building is nestled in the foothills of Pleasant Mountain, located near to Shawnee Peak Ski resort; and for the past forty years, the Sportshaus has served customers in the area.

When the owners made public their retirement this spring, nobody knew what the future might hold. Would Sportshaus Ski & Sport Shop fade into history or would it ride out the change and come up on top?

The business has a future as Sportshaus Snow & Water.

Long Lake Marina announced its purchase of the Sporthaus and its plans to continue to operate the business, expanding into water-based recreation.

“We do intend on running it as a winter sports business as it has been,” said James Davenport, the sales and marketing director for Long Lake Marina.

“The plan is to continue to run it as a winter sports business: selling skis, ski equipment and expanding into snowboards,” he said. “We’re expanding into snowboards and are currently in talks with two major manufacturers.”

“The main benefit to the Lake Region is the continued presence of a long-standing business that has served the ski and snowboarding community for 40 years,” Davenport said.

“We’re continuing to grow and enhance our investment in the Lake Region, and now we will have product offerings for both the summer and winter season,” he said.

“Long Lake Marina recognized this long-standing business had a great reputation in the snow industry, and since our exit from the snowmobile business in 2014, we’ve been looking for a potential acquisition in this space,” he said. 

Long Lake Marina’s owners closed on the business in mid-September. Part of the agreement is that owner Phil Libby will assist with the transition this winter season, Davenport said.

“Phil is going to stay on as an advisor for the entire winter season,” he said. 

One thing that will continue to be a tradition is the seasonal sale known as the tent sale. The tent sale will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., starting this Saturday and going through Oct. 7.

“We are kicking off with the tent sale. Historically, Phil has done the tent sale during the weekends of the Fryeburg Fair,” Davenport said. 

“With the 302 corridor being the main road most people take to the Fryeburg Fair” it makes sense to try to attract thousands of potential customers passing by during fair time, he said.

“The intent is to continue with that tradition, clearing out the rest of the inventory. We will also have summer gear from our other location, setting it up as a big liquidation sale,” he said.

People can look into seasonal leases on equipment, he said. Also, it will be an opportunity for customers to meet the members of the Long Lake Marina team, he said.

“We have a couple staff who are avid sport enthusiasts. They are going to be leading the charge over there,” he said.

After the tent sale takes place, there will be a grand opening event sometime in November.

“We want to make sure everyone is aware of what we’ve got going on,” Davenport said.

“We’re fully-committed to the winter sports business, and will have a great selection of inventory on hand for our grand opening in November,” he said, adding the date has yet to be determined.

“We look forward to serving skiers, snowboarders and their passion this upcoming season,” he said.

The idea of going from summertime to wintertime recreational activities came up before the Sportshaus purchase presented itself. Davenport was talking to a member of the trade group in the boat business, who also belonged to a trade group for winter sports. They talked about how the two trades were complementary.

It makes perfect sense, he said.

“For customer who use both stores, there will be additional customer loyalty promotions,” he said. 

“We’re enhancing the website and digital assets and will be offering online booking for all rental equipment as well as offering seasonal leases,” Davenport said.

The business webpage, www.sportshausski.com is already up-to-date with the name change and explanation from Long Lake Marina.