A Busload of Reasons to Promote Local Teams

Want to show support for your local sports teams? Think big.

An endcap with products that feature team logos, a special tailgating section in the spring or a few local teams’ flags as part of your store are good starts, but Dave Sem, owner of Sebo’s Do it Best Hardware & Rental in Anacortes, Wash., recently took his support of local sports to the next level, adding a Seattle Seahawks-themed party bus to his rental selection.

“We’ve been in rental for 14 years, and I thought it’d be something fun to try,” he says. “I’ve also been a Seahawks season ticket holder for a long time, and I thought it’d be fun to have a bus to rent out for large groups who want to go to games.”

The used bus seats 10, plus the driver. Sem bought it last fall and updated it with Seahawks graphics on the outside and a new radio system on the inside.

“It’s still a work in progress,” he says. “We’re hoping to find a booth to put in the back so a few people can sit together and play cards.”

He plans to rent the bus out for $150 per day. It has few enough seats that a commercial driver’s license won’t be required, but he will ask all customers who rent it out to supply a copy of their drivers’ licenses and proofs of insurance.

The timing worked well, of course, with the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl. But the bus can be used for more than sports outings.

“We have a lot of wineries and breweries around here that offer tours, and there are plenty of festivals and other events that our customers would want to get a group together and go somewhere for the day,” he says.

So far, the bus seems to be doing a good job of advertising itself: “We took it to a few Seattle games earlier this year, and it gets a lot of attention. We’ve seen quite a few people taking pictures of it on their phones as we drive down the road.”