Photo by Erin Nelson.
A patron shops at Bandwagon Sports, which opened in Heights Village in August.
David Knight has loved sports his whole life, and his four kids, ages 5 to 13, are all actively involved in sports too.
So when people ask him what Bandwagon — a sports boutique store — is all about, he tells them that the target demographic is his own family.
“We are our target demo — we need what we sell at our store,” said Knight, who with his wife, Leah, opened the first Bandwagon in Homewood in 2021. “We wanted to create the store we wanted to shop at.”
In August, they opened a second location at 3122 Heights Village in Cahaba Heights.
“It’s really kind of a hybrid of sporting goods store and apparel shop,” he said, noting that their goal is to provide top-notch equipment and stylish, accessible uniforms. “We feel like we’ve got a really nice blend of both.”
Bandwagon stocks equipment for baseball, basketball, football, softball, tennis and volleyball. It also specializes in community-based apparel and athleisure, so Homewood, Vestavia and Mountain Brook residents can find their local team wear in both children’s and adult sizes.
Knight said the decision to carry those products stems from his family’s deep roots in their local community and schools.
“We really cater to families that are involved in sports and have kids that are active in sports, but we also have casual wear that would appeal to non-sporting families,” he said. “We want to be the place where people can find what they need to support their community and school teams.”
Custom uniforms and apparel are also available, with a knowledgeable staff to guide customers through the process.
Knight said Bandwagon has been a family affair that started as a mid-COVID-19 pandemic career shift.
“I personally had been in the sports marketing industry for my entire career, 20 or so years,” he said. “In the latter part of 2020, six or eight months into COVID, I had to have a pivot of sorts.”
He and his wife talked about the options and what they personally would like to see in a new retail store.
“That led to Bandwagon, a sports retail concept that my wife and I dreamed up and conceptualized,” he said.
Knight said they are “thrilled to be in Homewood — we love Homewood and are there for the long haul.” But they are just as excited to have expanded into Vestavia.
He feels the store has already “made a good splash there.”
“The retail community there has been very good and very welcoming to us. We can already tell it’s a great community to be in,” Knight said.
Because of that success, they’re planning to open a Trussville location on Sept. 4, as well as one in Madison, Mississippi, later this fall.
For more information, go to Bandwagon’s website bandwagonsports.com or follow Bandwagon on Instagram at @bandwagonbhm.
