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While Matt Abner might have recently stepped down as the head girls’ soccer coach at George Rogers Clark High School, his love for sports goes beyond the soccer field.

Such was proven on a recent Friday afternoon.

At an official ribbon-cutting ceremony in association with the Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce, WinCity Sports Cards on Shoppers Drive opened with friends and family in attendance.

“I’ve always collected. It’s been thirty years since we had a card shop here [in Winchester],” said Abner, who owns the business. “I’ve always dreamed about having a card shop. Things just worked out.”

The word of the card shop is already beginning to spread, with one man in attendance stating that a friend in Estill County has mentioned it to him.

After walking into the store, people are treated on the left-hand side to a variety of individual sports cards for sale located inside glass display cases, plus products such as toy race cars.

Among other items, they can find yearly sets of trading cards behind the counter.

Both individual and boxes of cards cover a variety of sports, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, Formula 1 racing, and more.

To enhance the environment, one will also see jerseys on the right-hand side of both fictional characters, such as pitcher Ricky Vaughn from the film “Major League,” and real-life personalities like former University of Notre Dame linebacker Rudy Ruettiger.

Yet, that’s not all.

The store also looks to capitalize on trading cards and memorabilia elsewhere, including Pokemon cards, gaming cards, Funko Pops and Marvel collectibles.

While cards and memorabilia may be the strong suit, Abner also has bigger aspirations for the store.

“My vision is to do more than just have a card shop in town,” he said. “That’s why I’ve got the [extra] space. I want to have signings like today and then have trade nights. It gives me an avenue to do more in the community.”

Beginning positively, Abner hosted Winchester native Matt Ginter, who pitched previously for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, and the then-Cleveland Indians.

Ginter was present to sign 5×8 photographs, which were available for free.

Cards featuring him as a player in the early- and mid-2000s were also for sale.

“Mr. Abner brought me over here. I used to work with his son, Aaron. He’s now helping here in the card shop,” said Ginter. “I used to go to the card shop back when there used to be one here in town so I’m glad he’s bringing it back.”

While mentioning that his goal is also to have the business serve as a place to talk about cards and sports, Abner feels optimistic about the opportunity.

“This is something different for me to do, but I’m excited,” he said. “When you’re a little kid, you want to own a store and have a card shop. For me, as a collector, that’s what it always meant.”

WinCity Sports is located at 150 Shoppers Village Drive, next to McDonald’s.

Though closed on Sunday, its regular hours are listed as 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on all other days of the week.