Lids Sports Group recently partnered with the University of Iowa and Texas Tech University to operate on-campus fan shops. The stores will operate out of its Lids Clubhouse division.
Lids Clubhouse has agreements
with more than 25 professional teams, collegiate athletic departments
and sports organizations including the University of Washington, the University of Kansas, the
New York Yankees, and the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York
Jets.
The university deals came in separate announcements:
The University of Iowa
The University of Iowa entered into an agreement with LIDS Sports Group for the operation and management of Herky’s Locker Room, a new retailer and the official team store of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Herky’s Locker Room will consist of brick and mortar retail store locations, game day locations at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and the e-commerce website www. herkyslockerroom.com all carrying officially licensed Hawkeye merchandise.
LIDS will operate Herky’s Locker Room within its LIDS Clubhouse division. LIDS Clubhouse operates team-specific professional sports and collegiate athletics retail stores and e-commerce websites.
The first Herky’s Locker Room store will operate from the former Hawk Shop location at 1525 Second Street in Coralville, Iowa. LIDS officials expect both the retail location and the web site to be in operation in early August.
According to UI Director of Athletics Gary Barta, the decision to partner with LIDS Sports Group was driven in great measure by the desire to meet the increased demand of Hawkeyes fans across the country for merchandise. Interest has accelerated in recent years as a result of the success and exposure on a national level of the Hawkeye football, wrestling and women’s basketball programs, and the momentum that is building behind the men’s basketball program.
“Hawkeye fans proudly support our school colors and the Tigerhawk logo. This new retail agreement will provide UI fans access to the latest officially licensed University of Iowa apparel, accessories and novelties thanks to the excellent reputation, experience and strong national presence of LIDS Sports Group,” said Barta.
“Herky’s Locker Room is an exciting addition to the LIDS Clubhouse team and we look forward to demonstrating to Hawkeye fans everywhere LIDS dedication to staying on top of industry trends, offering a broad assortment of quality products, and putting customer service first,” said Ken Kocher, president of LIDS Sports Group.
“We look forward to demonstrating to Hawkeye fans everywhere LIDS dedication to staying on top of industry trends, offering a broad assortment of quality products, and putting customer service first.”
Ken Kocher, president of LIDS Sports Group
Texas Tech University
For the Texas Tech, Lids reached an agreement for the operation and management of The Double T Zone, located in Jones AT&T Stadium, which will operate within its LIDS Clubhouse division. LIDS Sports Group, primarily known for its LIDS retail brand, will absorb daily operations from The Double T Zone’s previous owner, Ovations.
“We are very excited to team-up with LIDS Sports Group,” said Bobby Gleason, Senior Associate Athletics Director of Business Operations. “The Double T Zone, our official store, will benefit greatly from LIDS Sports Group’s expertise in the collegiate retail market and we think our fans will notice an immediate improvement. LIDS Sports Group plans to be very aggressive and wants to provide Red Raider fans every opportunity to purchase officially licensed Texas Tech gear.”
“The Double T Zone is yet another example of creating a great synergy between regional sports fans and LIDS Sports Group’s commitment to becoming the premier specialty sports retailer in the country,” said Ken Kocher, president of LIDS Sports Group. “The Double T Zone is a nice addition to our growing LIDS Clubhouse division, which we intend to expand upon to include a much greater game day presence among Red Raider fans.”
In addition to the main store, The Double T Zone will operate a booth in the Raider Alley fan zone during home football games as well as other booth and kiosk locations at various Tech sporting events, including baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball and soccer.
The Double T Zone will be the University’s official retailer of on-field Under Armour apparel and will now feature custom embroidery capability, allowing Red Raider fans the opportunity to personalize their game day apparel. The product selection at The Double T Zone includes officially licensed men’s, women’s and kid’s apparel as well as Texas Tech novelty items, athletic jerseys, and an extensive hat collection.
