No one this week will be camping out on the sidewalks along Broadway, jostling for the first and best deals on ski and snowboard gear, winter apparel and accessories.

There is no more Sportscastle. There is no more Sports Authority. And for the first time in more than 60 years, there will be no Sniagrab.

The dean of Labor Day ski sales was created by the Gart family in 1954, when, the story goes, Jerry Gart and a fellow ski retailer wrote the word “bargains” on a napkin and then flipped it over.

Now, Sniagrab is gone, the last Sports Authority stores having closed this summer after the Englewood-based retailer failed to find salvation through bankruptcy.

Christy Sports’ Powder Daze When: Through Tuesday

Through Tuesday

Sale hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

Where: 8601 W. Cross Drive, Littleton Colorado Ski & Golf’s Ski Rex When : Friday through Sept. 18

: Friday through Sept. 18 Sale hours : 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday; regular store hours through Sept. 18

: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday; regular store hours through Sept. 18 Where: 2650 S. Havana St., Aurora (tent sale); 7715 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada; 8100 W. Crestline Ave., Littleton; 8691 Park Meadows Center Drive, Lone Tree; 2454 Montebello Square Drive, Colorado Springs; and 2525 Arapahoe Road, Boulder

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still deals to be had on winter-sports gear over Labor Day weekend.

Christy Sports’ Powder Daze and Colorado Ski & Golf’s Ski Rex may seem like relative newcomers, but the local specialty retailers are eager to win over former Sniagrab customers and carry the torch for what has become a Colorado tradition.

“Those die-hard skiers and even first-timers, what we always heard is they visited all the events and made decisions based on pricing and product and customer service and location,” said Dennis Meeker, Front Range area manager for Lakewood-based Christy Sports. “We all shared the same customer.”

“With (Sniagrab) gone, will there be a void in the market? Maybe, but they are already aware of us,” Meeker said. “It will be a great transition for some of them.”

This year marks the eighth year for Powder Daze, which began as a one-time event in 2009 to reduce recession-bloated inventories. Ski Rex has been around a little longer, since 1994.

(Colorado Ski & Golf was previously owned by the same Gart family that created Sniagrab. Broomfield-based Vail Resorts bought out the Garts’ interest in the specialty retailer in 2010.)

“We don’t know how it will impact us. Obviously, we’d all love to say, ‘Oh, we sold out,’ ” said Aubrey Neis, senior promotions manager for Vail Resorts Retail. “But we know this sale is important to our customers — to Colorado — to give them that convenience.”

After more than 60 years of Sniagrab, shoppers in Colorado are used to looking for deals around Labor Day, said Kelly Davis, director of research for SnowSports Industries America. That won’t change with Sports Authority out of the market.

“We’re all conditioned. We’re all Pavlov’s dogs — Labor Day sale, Labor Day sale,” Davis said. “Most people will go to another sale. They’ll find a deal. There are deals to be had.”

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Colorado Ski and Golf sale associate Tucker Means organizes snowboards for the annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016. The sale starts September 1st for preferred customers then is open to the public Sept. 2.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Colorado Ski and Golf sale associate Tucker Means organizes snowboards for the annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Tables of ski boots await the Colorado Ski and Golf's annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.



Andy Cross, The Denver Post Regional operations specialist for Vail Resorts Keith Bruchs continues preparations for the Colorado Ski and Golf's annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Colorado Ski and Golf Jr. trade department associate Michael Jukiewicz wheels out a cart of children's ski goggles to the kid's tent for the annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Colorado Ski and Golf sale associate Johnny Burgman organizes ski boots for the annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.



Andy Cross, The Denver Post Preparations underway under the big tent for Colorado Ski and Golf's annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Regional operations specialist for Vail Resorts Keith Bruchs continues preparations in the big tent for the Colorado Ski and Golf's annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post Ski jackets and hoodies wrapped up in cellophane under the tent at Colorado Ski and Golf for the annual Ski Rex sale August 25, 2016.



Inventory should be plentiful, too, Davis said. At the end of last season, there were more than 400,000 pairs of alpine boots, 300,000 skis and 100,000 snowboards left in specialty store inventories nationwide, according to SIA.

That’s comparable to last year’s numbers — with the exception of snowboards, Davis said.

“Snowboard inventories are way down — 100,000 boards, that’s wow,” she said. “That’s not a huge number of boards available.”

Colorado Ski & Golf started getting closeout gear deliveries to its Aurora warehouse at the end of July. Overall, inventory is “sitting a bit better” than in previous years, Neis said.

On a billboard in downtown Denver, Ski Rex’s T-rex mascot is holding a sign that reads “Bye Bye Sniagrab” and staking claim to the “nation’s largest ski & snowboard sale.”

New this year is an outdoor kids’ play zone at the Park Meadows store, hosted in conjunction with Keystone Resort. Ski Rex starts Friday and runs through Sept. 18 at all four Colorado Ski & Golf locations, Colorado Ski & Sports in Lone Tree and Boulder Ski Deals.

“It’s a one-stop shop, especially for people who have kids,” Neis said. “As much as I’d like to go to every sale, I also want to enjoy the weekend.”

Powder Daze, which got underway Aug. 26 and runs through Tuesday in one location across the street from Southwest Plaza, does have some additional items that it may not have had in the past, Meeker said.

“(The closing of Sports Authority) did open some other opportunities to buy closeout product that we could pass on those deep discounts to the customer,” Meeker said. “There wasn’t a whole lot — that equipment gets offered not just in the state of Colorado but ski shops around the world.”

Pass partners at Powder Daze this year include Copper, Winter Park, Steamboat, Crested Butte, Monarch and Eldora. (Epic and Epic School Kids passes will be available at Ski Rex.)

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Meeker said. “The one thing we always set out to do is make sure our customer service is at the highest level and have the staff here that can meet their needs and sell them the right equipment. It’s about the right equipment.”

As for Sniagrab, the trademark is now owned by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which purchased the intellectual property during the bankruptcy auction along with Sports Authority’s name, domain name and customer database. The company’s plans for the trademark have not yet been disclosed.