Royals Majestic Team Store has new look and merchandise for 2017

The Majestic Team Store at Kauffman Stadium has gone through its first major renovation of the current decade, hoping to impress Kansas City Royals fans.

Royals fans attending home games have grown accustomed to the feel and look of the Royals Majestic Team Store inside Kauffman Stadium. As the Royals’ on-field product has become immensely more successful over the past few years, the team store has also now drastically changed to reflect the championship culture.

“The last major renovation of the team store was in 2009,” said Brett Salzenstein, the Retail Division Manager for Aramark who oversees the store. “So it was time for some updates and improvements.”

Two drastic changes are noticeable before fans even enter the store. Gone are the window coverings and single-door entrance from the concourse side. Replacing them are window fronts displaying the new products the store has to offer and a garage door entryway.

“We have a 16-foot garage door and new display cases,” Salzenstein explained. “You can now see into the store. Ticketed fans will be entering through the garage door on game days and as fans flow through, we re-arranged the registers to 10 permanent registers from six. For the home opener, we’ll have additional point-of-sale places.”

Once inside, three elements of the renovation immediately demand attention. The store is much more open and the flow of the merchandise liberated. Additionally, the glossy, Royal-blue concrete floor reflects the brightly-lit emporium.

“The goal is to keep the flow moving with this new layout,” commented Salzenstein. “The floor is an idea that the Royals brought to the table. We had to do some testings with colors and patterns, but the finished product is beautiful. It’s shiny, sleek and reflects the product well. Every light on the tracks above is LED now, which highlights the product so much better and showcases everything in the store.”

A closer inspection reveals two more pieces of the renovation that are intended to engage fans while in the store. The crown suspended in the store’s center now features graphics celebrating both of the franchise’s World Series championships. The wall closest to the parking lot now boasts the names and faces of the greatest players in Royals history, put together in a timeline.

“The timeline is really unique,” Salzenstein stated. “It fits the store very well and it works as a conversation starter for fans.”

In keeping with the theme, the majority of the merchandise found on the store’s walls and racks is new for the 2017 season.

“That’s been the most fun part for us,” Salzenstein said. “When the construction was done, we got to put all the new merchandise up. Obviously, the core items are carry-overs, but everything has new designs. Our featured products from vendors like Majestic, Under Armour, Nike and New Era are all brand new. This season we are featuring the ‘home golds’ jerseys and headwear. All throughout the year, we will have new merchandise on a nearly monthly basis.”

The renovation is the result of months of labor, initiated by a meeting with the Royals.

“It all started with the Royals organization,” Salzenstein stated. “They came to us and we talked about some of the ideas that we both wanted to see in the store and for the fan experience. We worked with Populous as well. We wanted to open the store up from the concourse so that it was an entirely new experience.”

By re-opening the store less than three weeks before the Royals’ home opener, Salzenstein and his team were hoping to do all they could to make all the necessary adjustments and put the finishing touches on the space before the Oakland Athletics come to Kauffman on April 10. Thus far, it looks like their efforts have been successful.

“We have been open for just over a week now and all the feedback has been amazing,” Salzenstein commented. “Everyone asks if we made it bigger, which we didn’t. We just made a lot of improvements within the space we had. All our vendors and the Royals are happy with the way it turned out. I think the fans will be too.”

If the store’s sales are as remarkable as its remodel was, the store’s performance over the next several seasons should be just as successful as the Royals have been on the field in recent years.