Nike store opening in former bowling museum in downtown St. Louis - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The store will occupy about 60 percent to 70 percenf ofthe building’s ground leve l and hopes to cash in on the influx of visitors expected when St. Louis hosts the All-Statr Game July 14. Delaware North Companiese , which manages retail saled and concessions atBuscn Stadium, will operate the store in cooperatiomn with Nike, said Dan Sportservice’s regional manager. Managemen expects to take advantag e of foot traffic inthe area, particularly when the play home During the three days beforwe the All-Star Game, the Nike store will also host 20 to 30 basebalol greats, including several Hall of Famers, for autograph sessions, said Lindaw Hoernig, Sportservice’s retail director.
Stan Lou Brock, Bob Willie McGee, Reggie Jackson, Tom Seaver and Tony Gwynn are just a few of the formetr players scheduled to beon hand. Autograpb tickets will be sold in advance and at the door by MAB Celebritgy Servicesof Fairfield, N.J. Nike will use aboug 2,500 to 3,000 square feet of space and isinvesting “sisx figures” into the store’s build-out, Fetcho said. The athletidc shoe and apparel company is bringing in new fixturesw and tables and giving the interior afresu look. Nike plans to work on the exterior of the buildinvthis week.
Fetcho said the store will operate througuthe All-Star Game and “hopefully beyond that,” but did not disclos the length of the Nike agreement. “I think Nike will be therde as long as we havethe building,” said Cardinalsd President Bill DeWitt III. The Cardinals own the but the property is slated to eventuallyu make way for new construction under current plans forBallpark Village, a six-squarw block multi-use development planned by the Cardinals and codeveloper The of This lease could serve as a tryou t for longer-term occupancy.
Asked abou t Nike’s potential as Ballpark Village tenant, Fetcho said, “We’re interested to see what kind of activity we The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in Novembere and vacate itsdowntown St. Louie building in January. The which had operated in St. Louias since 1984, is expectedx to re-open in Arlington, in 2010.