Duke City Games presents 'Topps Tuesday,' links with card giant

RIO RANCHO — Duke City Games on Southern Boulevard is excited for the future of sports cards.

Don’t let the giant Pokémon on the side of the building fool you. While typical cards and games are prevalent, such as “Magic: The Gathering” and “One Piece”, DCG has been recognized by Topps Card Company as an affiliate store.

“We are one of, probably, around 50 stores.” Trevor Neuber, store manager at the Rio Rancho location, said.

In addition to hosting Topps trade nights, the store broadcasts “ToppsTV” on its in-store televisions, an exclusive television program available only at these select locations.

“We also get our product directly from Topps, and we can price match to the official Topps prices,” Neuber said.

The world of trading cards spiked in popularity around the pandemic, but they haven’t looked back. Card sales and submissions for card grades set records this past year, with the Topps brand growing since being acquired by memorabilia giant Fanatics in early 2022.

Fanatics has been a major player in sports cards’ return to relevance, including “Fanatics Fest,” a mega conference of sports fandom hosted in New York City. The weekend event started in 2024, with the 2025 installment welcoming over 125,000 fans this past June.

More than 250 card vendors and dealers were present at the event, open to purchases and trading.

The wave has hit here in New Mexico as well, with over 2,000 card enthusiasts attending the New Mexico Card Show in Albuquerque in July.

“We’ve got a little bit of everything,” Neuber said. “Baseball, basketball, football, soccer. We’ve got UFC, WWE, F1.”

Not only has the quantity growth drawn in excitement at Duke City Games, but the quality and uniqueness of every new product. Exhibit A: a mystery signed NFL football.

Neuber and DCG really focus on not just the sales, but the trading community of the store. Everything that comes through their inventory is quickly made known to the public.

“I post right away to social media when we get something new in. Honestly, I will post like five or six times about a product. A lot of times, people will come in and show the post, asking if we still have it.”

Yep, they do. And the store expects to get even more, based on the developments in the Topps brand acquiring licenses.

“In a few months, Topps will have a full license to NBA and MLB rights. And then the NFL in the spring,” Neuber said. “With that, they will be able to do so much more. It’s really just the tip of the iceberg.”

Through the sounds of “Beyblades” spinning in the background during an afternoon tournament at the store, you could hear the excitement in Nueber’s voice for the sports section of DCG.

“I played every sport growing up, I have like five fantasy football teams,” Neuber said. “And obviously, I had my own sports card collection.”

To check it out, visit Duke City Game’s Rio Rancho location at 1700 Southern Blvd. Looking for something a bit more? The New Mexico Card Show returns to Albuquerque on Sept. 27-28 at the Marriott Albuquerque Uptown.

It all has Nueber is looking forward to the future: “It’s exciting to see what’s next to come.”