Phillies Announce Agreement With Build-A-Bear Workshop®

High School Baseball

Baseball Links

Baseball Spotlight:
Phillies Announce Agreement With Build-A-Bear Workshop® To Create A
"Make Your Own Phanatic" Store At Citizens Bank Park
Friday, March 12, 2004

By Larry Shenk
Philadelphia Phillies Correspondent

The Phillies announced an agreement today with Build-A-Bear Workshop to create a Make Your Own Phanatic store at Citizens Bank Park. Open during all Phillies home games, the unique store will allow fans to purchase an un-stuffed 19-inch Phanatic plush doll, watch it get stuffed with fluff on-site and dress it in miniature clothes and accessories from the Phanatic's outfits worn on-field. Customers will also be able to print out a personalized birth certificate and take the items home in a unique carrying case, the Cub Condo®. The store is the first of its kind developed by Build-A-Bear Workshop in a professional sports venue.

Make Your Own Phanatic will be located on the west side of the main concourse level at Citizens Bank Park. Initially, the Phanatic outfits to be offered include the Phanatic's boxer, hip hop, chef, tuxedo, beach bum and disco costumes. The Build-A-Bear Workshop mascot "Bearemy" will also be offered for stuffing and can be dressed and accessorized with apparel of the Phillies and other Major League Baseball teams.

Joe Giles, Phillies Director of Business Development, said, "This will be something really special for our young fans and those who know young fans. We've been working with the people at Build-A-Bear Workshop for some time to develop this concept. It will truly be a unique experience - the only one of its kind in the Major Leagues."

Maxine Clark is the Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop and commented, "We are thrilled to be a part of the new Citizens Bank Park. Baseball is a part of the American landscape as are stuffed animals. We think partnering Build-A-Bear Workshop with The Phillies and the ever-popular Phanatic is a perfect match for fun, smiles and an unbearably exciting entertainment experience. The Phillies and Major League Baseball have been great to work with on this exciting and exclusive Make Your Own Phanatic store at the new ballpark!"

Build-A-Bear Workshop is an interactive, entertainment mall-based retailer that invites guests of all ages to create their own customized stuffed animals through an exciting bear-making process. The company was named "Retail Innovator of the Year in 2001" by the National Retail Federation, a distinction presented annually to an outstanding retailer for their singular, innovative approach to the retail trade. The first Build-A-Bear Workshop store opened in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997, and the company now operates over 150 locations in the USA with four stores in Canada, a store in Sheffield, England, which opened in the fall of 2003 and stores in Japan and Korea, which opened earlier this year. The company is on track to open more international stores this year including its first stores in France and Denmark, making it the global leader in the teddy bear business. For more information, call (888) 560-BEAR or visit the company's award-winning website at www.buildabear.com.