For the third time since March, SoccerPlus has been broken into, and this time there may be international soccer jerseys circulating on the streets of Chilliwack.
Store owner Glenn Wilson got a 2:10 a.m. wakeup call Monday morning from the company that monitors his alarms, and when he arrived he found a large piece of wood outside the door to the store.
The glass pane on the door was shattered, a massive rock was lying on the floor inside and Wilson knew right away what had been stolen.
“The thieves knew what they were looking for because all of the international jerseys were gone,” Wilson said. “They were sophisticated enough to know what’s popular and in demand and what they could sell on the street quickly.
“Each of those jerseys retails for $100 to $120 each.
“We haven’t calculated a dollar value yet, but it will be significant.”
Wilson operated SoccerPlus on the Sardis side of town for more than a decade before moving to his new spot at Prospera Centre earlier this year.
There were four break-ins at the old location (near Cottonwood Mall next to White Spot and Go Bananas) over 13 years. In the last six months SoccerPlus has been victimized by two successful break-ins and one failed attempt.
“The frustrating thing is the insurance deductible is $1000 right off the bat,” Wilson said. “The last time, the thieves grabbed some goalie gloves and boots and it was a writeoff because they weren’t worth the deductible.
“This time there is significantly more value in what was taken.”
Wilson wanted his new location to be open and friendly, but he is now investigating increased security measures that he laughingly calls ‘Fort Knox options.’ That may include bars for the window and an interior metal gate for the door.
“My hope is this will motivate the landlord to really look at the security around here and maybe take a few more steps to look after the tenants,” Wilson said. “Maybe then I’ll be a bit more comfortable being here. But there has been a little bit of thought about whether we should have stayed where we were.”