Golden Knights’ ‘Gold Friday’ Sale At Team Shops Draws Lines — To Get In and To Pay
By ALAN SNEL
The good news was the long line of Golden Knights fans waiting to get into the Arsenal team store at 9 a.m. today.
The bad news was the long line of Golden Knights fans waiting to pay for their jerseys, T-shirts and caps.
Fans said they waited an hour to pay for their logo gear at The Arsenal, the team store at City National Arena, where the Golden Knights are based and where the team holds practices.
The first-year Golden Knights held their own inaugural Black Friday sales event called “Gold Friday” today, when a line of fans came early for the special 9 a.m. opening. There were 20 percent off coupons for fans who pulled the Golden Knights’ sword from the big stone outside the store.
Fans Ken and Tina Swanson said they waited on line for an hour to buy $114 worth of T-shirts for Christmas gifts. Tina noted she visits the store about twice a week, too.
Tina Swanson said the 20 percent off coupon was a big attraction for hitting today’s Gold Friday sales event.
“That’s why I spent more money than I would have,” she said.
Another husband-and-wife combo, Robert and Jill Dambrosio, came from Mesquite at least 90 minutes away to buy two white away jerseys and other items. Their bill was more than $500, Robert Dambrosio said.
They were buying shirts, too, to try and convince their neighbors to hop on the Golden Knights bandwagon.
Golden Knights Chief Marketing Officer Brian Killingsworth said he was pleased with the line of fans who waited to get into the team store. They filed in very politely with no Black Friday crowd incidents that you see in other retail locations.
But Brenda Rice, noting she was a Detroit Red Wings fan, noted some people were leaving the line because it was too long. She was there with her daughter and son-in-law buying some sweatshirts.
Killingsworth said he will have to work on making the points of sales more efficient to accommodate the long shopping line.
Chance, the team’s gila monster, was meeting kids outside the store. He was signing photo cards for the tots.
The team mascot, Chance, met kids and fans outside the store.
The team wants to connect with kids because they’re the ones who can grow up as Golden Knights fans. Adults already have their hometown teams. For example, Robert Dambrosio said he was a Rangers fan when he arrived in Nevada, while wife Jill was an Islanders fan.
LVSportsBiz.com founder/writer Alan Snel can be reached at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com
