Card and sports memorabilia companies have a new retail outlet in which to sell their wares–one focused strictly on the players themselves.
Topps, Upper Deck and PhotoFile are just three of the companies whose products will be represented in a new store at CitiField, home of the New York Mets.
The store will open today, as Major League Baseball prepares for its 2009 season with weekend exhibition games at the new ballpark
The Major League Baseball Players Association is behind the concept, which will focus on the players themselves rather than team-oriented merchandise. The effort is in part to help boost revenue for the players union by increasing the visibility of some of its stars. Goods featuring team names or logos but no player names or likenesses produce licensing revenue for only Major League Baseball, which is why items with players’ names are also more expensive than similar products without them.
The store provides the MLBPA and its licensees with a unique opportunity to launch new items, test future products and host player-related events. In fact, several players from the Mets and Red Sox are scheduled to appear at the store’s opening, according to a story in the New York Times.
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