Goldy’s Locker Room to open at TCF Bank Stadium

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FYI - this sounds like it will be the biggest Gopher paraphernalia place to get all your Gopher needs! (I apologize if this has been posted already, didn't have much Hole time today)


6,000-square-foot store will be go-to destination for Gopher sports fans

MINNEAPOLIS (June 23, 2009) – Gold Country, Inc., the official licensed retailer for University of Minnesota Gopher sports products, today announced it will build and operate the Gopher sports apparel and accessories store at TCF Bank Stadium, the new home of University of Minnesota Gopher football.

The Goldy’s Locker Room store will be located at the main entrance to TCF Bank Stadium, at the corner of University Avenue and Oak Street. The store will be finished and open to the public by mid-August and carry the largest selection of Gopher sports products in the state.

“Goldy’s Locker Room at TCF Bank Stadium will be one of the nation’s largest, most state-of-the-art college sports retail venues and the go-to destination for Gopher sports fans from far and wide,” said Ron Leafblad, CEO of Gold Country, Inc. “We are excited to be part of this historic moment for the University of Minnesota and continue our longstanding partnership with the university’s Athletics Department.”

At 6,000 square feet, the two-level, glass-fronted store is more than twice the size of a regular Goldy’s Locker Room store. The store will feature a shopper-friendly and dynamic design, complemented by vibrant signage and murals celebrating the history and heritage of Gopher football. Products will range from apparel, accessories and gift items for all ages and occasions to special collectibles and gameday novelties. Other special, in-store fan attractions will be unveiled to the public on store opening day.

“Gold Country has been a great partner of Gopher athletics for over 16 years, providing official and authentic Gopher products,” said Joel Maturi, University of Minnesota Gopher athletics director. “We are building the best stadium in the Big Ten, and Goldy’s Locker Room will play a major role in making the Gopher sports experience at TCF Bank Stadium memorable and exciting for our fans, friends and visitors. The store’s great proximity to our other venues will make it a required stop for Gopher fans year-round.”

Goldy’s Locker Room at TCF Bank Stadium will be open on weekdays and weekends, with special opening hours on game days.

The new store will provide employment opportunities and is seeking applicants with retail and customer service experience. Interested applicants, including University of Minnesota students, are encouraged to submit resumes to Gold Country’s Dinkytown and Stadium Village locations.

Here are a few photos of future home of Goldy’s Locker Room
 

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That is good news!

Can't get enough of that Gopher Gear!
 

I've been saving my allowance for 1) A gold cold-weather jacket and 2) a gold jacket/pants set of rain gear, and yesterday I added to my list 3) a Gopher golf bag (after my boss showed off his sweet new golf bag he received for fathers day). And I was granted permission to buy a piece of the floor from Williams for father's day! I've got to upgrade the gear for the new stadium!
 

Will Gold Country still retain their Stadium Village location? It seems like they could get rid of paying rent there and just operate the stadium site since it's only a few blocks away. I know the article said you can submit apps at their stadium village location, so obviously it will still be there initially, but it makes sense to me in the long term to stick to the stadium location.
 

They could also pull out of the location in Dinkytown as well since having 2 locations within 5 blocks in separate directions makes little sense. I suppose this is a good thing as it opens up space in Stadium Village AND Dinkytown for a restaurant/bar, which will only add to the atmosphere for gamedays and beyond.

I personally dislike Goldy's Locker Room. They have a monopoly on official gear and they know it, so they charge a crapload for it. Some things are reasonable (hats and a few other things are what they cost at many other stores). But $70 for a sweatshirt, $20-25 for a printed t-shirt, etc etc is not my idea of a good deal. And Steve and Barry's went out of business. I thought we really could have used a U-dedicated one on campus, similar to the one on State St in Madison or the one in East Lansing. Oh well. This will certainly be a really nice store in an obviously great location.
 


RailBaronYarr said:
I personally dislike Goldy's Locker Room. They have a monopoly on official gear and they know it, so they charge a crapload for it. Some things are reasonable (hats and a few other things are what they cost at many other stores). But $70 for a sweatshirt, $20-25 for a printed t-shirt, etc etc is not my idea of a good deal. And Steve and Barry's went out of business. I thought we really could have used a U-dedicated one on campus, similar to the one on State St in Madison or the one in East Lansing. Oh well. This will certainly be a really nice store in an obviously great location.
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I certainly would not call Gold Country a bargain, but I've thought their prices were generally fair. I wonder if prices will be higher at the stadium location.
 

But will they have rain gear?

:)

BTW.. I could see them giving up the other place in stadium village. That would also allow sally's to really expand if they moved the ice cream place to the other end of the parking lot.

And... college licensed gear is expensive. That is all there is to say about that. For that reason alone I have no M on my canopy, but it is maroon!
 

anticallihan said:
And... college licensed gear is expensive. That is all there is to say about that. For that reason alone I have no M on my canopy, but it is maroon!
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Not just college licensed, but college licensed-NIKE branded gear is expensive! I don't think the prices are outrageous, sure it's not cheap but I don't think it's much different than any other school.
 

I agree it isn't different than any other school, or pro gear for that matter either. I didn't mean to rag on Gold Country in particular because I certainly have shopped there and they provide much-needed Gopher apparel to the state. However, I just hate the idea of paying $20+ for a screen printed shirt that says MINNESOTA on it. And the reason it is so expensive is because they (all official licensed stores) have us believing it has to be due to getting licensed gear. Target and Steve & Barry's proved that you can provide licensed gear much cheaper. $5 for a maroon or gold shirt that reads MN is far more like it. Just don't over-reach and start signing nobodies like Marbury, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Amanda Bynes to their own clothing line. No one wants to buy that.

I would agree the Nike branding is one reason some of the stuff in the store is quite expensive. But much of the gear in their store isn't Nike.
 



If anyone is ever driving south and has a couple of minutes to spare, head to the Nike outlet in Medford. Lot's of Nike Gopher gear for cheap. I was there a couple of months ago and got a couple of shirts and some athletic shorts for about $30 total. Just sayin...
 

I am suprised that the university wouldn't want to run and own the store and keep all the revenue from it as they do with all the gopher clothing in the bookstores. It is disappointing that they are letting this revenue go to a private company that also owns the wisconsin stores in camp randall.
 

Who else will they get to buy space in the stadium? Hmmm? Something that would generate revenue 365? I am sure the lease Gold Country signed is similar to most mall arrangements that generates not only rent for the space but also a percentage of the sales.
 

Since Goldy's Locker room is a Wisconsin Company...

owned by a former BADger...do you think they are going to roll out racks of Badger stuff for that game? More curious then serious about this, not trying to start a war or anything. Just not sure how loyal they would be if there was money to be made.
 



re3886 said:
owned by a former BADger...do you think they are going to roll out racks of Badger stuff for that game? More curious then serious about this, not trying to start a war or anything. Just not sure how loyal they would be if there was money to be made.
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I wouldn't count on it.

Now, some entrepreneurs out there will almost certainly set up shop along the sidewalks of campus and sell Badger gear that weekend. I saw a couple folks doing this in Madison last year.
 

I would just prefer that if there is no local company that could run it to have the store run by the university as they do the bookstores. That way the university gets all the revenue and doesn't have to share the profits with a badger company. I would be curious to see what the revenue comparisons would be with having gold country pay rent and making their profits versus the university running it with no rent revenue but all of the profits from the proceeds of merchandise sales.
 

GopherGod said:
I am suprised that the university wouldn't want to run and own the store and keep all the revenue from it as they do with all the gopher clothing in the bookstores. It is disappointing that they are letting this revenue go to a private company that also owns the wisconsin stores in camp randall.
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retail inventory and overhead can be "not fun" to manage. i know from a past life. do you know where this company is headquartered then? mpls? madison? better be mpls.
 

GopherGod said:
I would just prefer that if there is no local company that could run it to have the store run by the university as they do the bookstores. That way the university gets all the revenue and doesn't have to share the profits with a badger company. I would be curious to see what the revenue comparisons would be with having gold country pay rent and making their profits versus the university running it with no rent revenue but all of the profits from the proceeds of merchandise sales.
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surprisingly, we actually agree on something for once. ;)
 

Setting aside the whole Gold Country/Goldy’s Locker Room monopoly issue, I like the idea of a full time merchandise store at the stadium. I wonder, though, what the plans are for parking on non-game days. Are the lots north of the stadium going to be contract lots, daily parking or pay by the hour lots? I don’t think of parking in the University Ramp and walking over as a very convenient option for retail shoppers, but maybe most of their weekday business is from people on campus already.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Setting aside the whole Gold Country/Goldy’s Locker Room monopoly issue, I like the idea of a full time merchandise store at the stadium. I wonder, though, what the plans are for parking on non-game days. Are the lots north of the stadium going to be contract lots, daily parking or pay by the hour lots? I don’t think of parking in the University Ramp and walking over as a very convenient option for retail shoppers, but maybe most of their weekday business is from people on campus already.
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there is on-street parking on the road just west of the stadium (i.e. the road that runs right in between TCF and Mariucci), so that should be pretty convenient for most weekday shoppers as it is nothing more than a 20-30 second walk from there to the new goldy's locker room.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Setting aside the whole Gold Country/Goldy’s Locker Room monopoly issue, I like the idea of a full time merchandise store at the stadium. I wonder, though, what the plans are for parking on non-game days. Are the lots north of the stadium going to be contract lots, daily parking or pay by the hour lots? I don’t think of parking in the University Ramp and walking over as a very convenient option for retail shoppers, but maybe most of their weekday business is from people on campus already.
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Well, the parking certainly won't be worse then it is now for the Stadium Village store. :) Good question though.

What I found interesting was that the store will be 2 floors...that could end up being a very cool space.
 

Bronko Nagurski Gopher said:
there is on-street parking on the road just west of the stadium (i.e. the road that runs right in between TCF and Mariucci), so that should be pretty convenient for most weekday shoppers as it is nothing more than a 20-30 second walk from there to the new goldy's locker room.
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Thanks, I wasn't sure what was going to be there after the construction project was done. Do you know if there will there be street parking north of University or just at the meters in front of McNamara (as there is now)?
 

GopherGod said:
I am suprised that the university wouldn't want to run and own the store and keep all the revenue from it as they do with all the gopher clothing in the bookstores. It is disappointing that they are letting this revenue go to a private company that also owns the wisconsin stores in camp randall.
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The bookstore is also a private company for the many that do not know that.. If you think that the University does not get there share of the profits you must have just fell of the wagon. The U gets at least 30% on some items. Gold country is based out of Minnetonka, so you could say that a Minnesota company does Camp Randall..
 

gopher2773 said:
The bookstore is also a private company for the many that do not know that.. If you think that the University does not get there share of the profits you must have just fell of the wagon. The U gets at least 30% on some items. Gold country is based out of Minnetonka, so you could say that a Minnesota company does Camp Randall..
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I find this interesting that this is your first post ever, you wouldn't happen to be the owner of Gold Country trying to save face would you. Is it just Gold Country that is based in Minnetonka but the parent company is based in Wisconsin, just asking. I was just asking what the revenue for the university would be if they ran the store themselves versus having Gold Country do it and pay rent on the site.
 

My two cents on the U vs. Gold Country issue:

The U book store has made some good strides in recent years to upgrade the quality of their Gopher apparel, but they still lag behind Gold Country in quality and also in being able to know/predict what fans are going to want from season to season and year to year. For the book store, it's an ancillary business line to their main purpose (selling books). For Gold Country, it's their sole purpose. I know Gold Country is owned by a Wisconsin fan, but they honestly do a great job of getting high quality Gopher stuff that people want to buy. I don't have a problem with them being in the stadium.
 

That's weird..

gopher2773 said:
The bookstore is also a private company for the many that do not know that.. If you think that the University does not get there share of the profits you must have just fell of the wagon. The U gets at least 30% on some items. Gold country is based out of Minnetonka, so you could say that a Minnesota company does Camp Randall..[/QUOTE)

We looks this up a couple of years ago, and it was listed as the reverse. Bucky's owned Goldy's and was based on W. Dayton St in Madison, now it's listed as being in Minnetonka.
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I have no problem with them in TCF..

I was curious as to what to expect. I mean who else could it have been? The Bookstore just doesn't have to range needed. Target? their three shirts would not get it done either. It would have been really unrealistic to think somebody could come in from scratch.
 

The questions I have is....

-Will they offer winter jackets and other outdoor gopher football specific clothing?

-Will they acknowledge that former players/big men may want some new gopher gear and begin stocking the nike team apparel in XXXL or tall sizes?

Both of these things are terribly lacking in all the current gopher fan gear suppliers
 

Okay, I can't take reading complete falsehoods. The University of Minnesota Bookstore is NOT a private company. I have worked at the U for a number of years, including having worked with the bookstore on some projects. It is a self-supporting department within the University.
 

That is what I thought.

year of the gopher said:
Okay, I can't take reading complete falsehoods. The University of Minnesota Bookstore is NOT a private company. I have worked at the U for a number of years, including having worked with the bookstore on some projects. It is a self-supporting department within the University.
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I know U.M.D.'s was school owned, but run by a family with minnimal input from the school. I thought the "U"'s was school owned.
 

Store size

“Goldy’s Locker Room at TCF Bank Stadium will be one of the nation’s largest, most state-of-the-art college sports retail venues"

REALLY?? At twice the size of a current Goldy's Locker Room, which are not very big, that still won't be anything near the size of the on-campus stores i have been into on the Notre Dame campus or the Nebraska campus.

We dont have the demand here for that big of a store. I would love to see more selection. I am always a little irked when I see some cool stuff online or wherever but then learn that it is not available with a MN logo. Until we get a higher demand for fan gear like some other schools, including the two listed above, we won't have one of the nation's largest retail venues.
 

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