The Lions just sent out a release about a new 10-year deal they have agreed to with MainGate Inc., which will handle all merchandising-related things beginning next month.
In an effort to provide Lions fans with the most innovative and complete merchandising services, the Detroit Lions announced today that they have agreed to a 10-year deal that makes MainGate, Inc. the exclusive retail and merchandising company for the organization.
The partnership which formally begins on April 1, 2009 positions MainGate to operate all merchandise locations at Ford Field, including a year round pro shop, training camp, the official E-commerce store as well as act as the Lions internal merchandise department.
The only reason I'm passing this news along is because I believe the date of when this deal begins may be important. This is pure speculation, but it seems to me that if a new logo and new uniforms were going to be released to the public, the date when this new company takes over would make the most sense. When the new logo is released, people are going to want to buy apparel with that logo on it. Since the Lions' online store is pretty much empty and is clearing out what it has left, I'm just thinking that the launch of the new store with MainGate could coincide with the release of the Lions' new logo.