As Major League Baseball continues to explore means that can assist with growing the sport, the league announced plans to open their first flagship store. Located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas in the heart of Manhattan, the MLB Flagship Store will be the first permanent retail location in the United States.
MLB partnered with Legends, a leader in global planning, sales, and hospitality, to operate the store. Legends Project Development additionally is overseeing the design and construction of the retail space.
“Building an iconic retail footprint in the United States’ most dynamic city, celebrating America’s greatest pastime is a significant moment for our company,” Legends president and CEO Shervin Mirhashemi said.
“Off the strength of our deep experience in merchandise solutions, we are committed to creating an unparalleled shopping experience for baseball fans worldwide. We’re thrilled that Major League Baseball has chosen our team to help launch their state-of-the-art flagship store – we know fans are going to love this new experience.”
The standalone 17,000 square-foot store is designed to bring the game of baseball to life with an engaging, refreshed feel to retail over two floors. The expectation is for it to open in the summer of 2020.
“We are extremely excited about opening the MLB Flagship Store next summer,” MLB deputy commissioner of business and media Tony Petitti said.
“This new retail location in a busy area of Manhattan gives us another unique way to market our players and teams and help continue to grow the sport. We plan to provide our fans a best-in-class shopping experience and look forward to making this store a reality with our world-class partners at Legends.”
The store will offer an assortment of officially licensed products for fans of all ages. The high-quality products available at the flagship location will come from a full range of MLB licensees and highlight all 30 MLB clubs in addition to historical franchises in the Cooperstown Collection and authenticated game-used memorabilia.
The store will also offer unique New York City products along with customization options.