NASCAR
Arrives in Vegas
NASCAR fans in Southern Nevada
don't have to visit Las Vegas Motor Speedway
to snag the sport's most popular products.
Just
a pit stop away from this city's largest megaresorts,
Chicago businessman Steve Deli and his wife,
Anne, are offering an extensive array of licensed
T-shirts, caps and jackets.
The
nation's third NASCAR The Official Store opened
Jan. 19 on the Fashion Show mall's first floor.
Situated just off the mall's easternmost entrance,
the 2,400-square-foot shop is easily visible
to pedestrians on the Strip.
"We
want to capture markets with high tourist traffic
as well as ties to NASCAR -- places with races
and tracks," Mike Northrop, director of
store operations, said Thursday.
Northrop
cited this city's nearly 40 million annual visitors,
as well as Las Vegas Motor Speedway, host of
Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Nextel Cup
event.
"Business
has been good here from the jump, but this week
is our Christmas, so to speak," Northrop
added.
Jim
McMichael, senior marketing manager for Fashion
Show, called NASCAR the country's fastest-growing
sport. For obvious reasons, he welcomes its
fans' presence at the mall.
"Its
fan base is growing tremendously," McMichael
said. "(The store) is a great resource
for our local customers and tourists."
The
concept is catching on elsewhere. The first
NASCAR The Official Store opened in July in
Orlando, Fla.; No. 2 dropped on Chicago's tony
Michigan Avenue retail district in September.
More
will follow by summer's end, including sites
in Branson, Mo., and Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport. A second Orlando store is planned,
as is another Las Vegas store inside Desert
Passage at Aladdin.
Unlike
other retailers that carry licensed NASCAR apparel,
Northrop said his company sells an exclusive
line of T-shirts representing 28 popular drivers.
Store-exclusive
caps and jackets will follow in time for the
2007 racing season, he said.
The
Deli family's business, American Road Retail,
directly licensed the store's rights from the
Daytona Beach, Fla.-based National Association
for Stock Car Auto Racing.
Another
major sports league could soon follow NASCAR's
lead in Southern Nevada.
National
Basketball Association executives told the Review-Journal
last month they're considering placing a league-owned
NBA Store in Las Vegas before next year's All-Star
events in the city.
Nothing
has been decided so far, an NBA spokesman said
Thursday.
The
world's only NBA Store is on Fifth Avenue in
New York City.
|
