The Grand Opening of the Oakley Store at Angels Stadium

[AngelsWin.com]

By David Saltzer AngelsWin.com Senior Writer - 

Angels fans who have been to the stadium this season havenoticed a new concession stand in Angels Stadium. It’s the Oakley Store, locatedin Section 113 the first Oakley store in any stadium anywhere. Yes, it’s thefirst—we even beat the Yankees in getting an Oakley store!

If you are like me, and grew up in Orange County, Oakleysunglasses are well known to you. However, if you are not, Oakley sunglasses providelens curvature and optical clarity—both designed to give a snug fit and perfectvision while playing sports or driving a car. They manufacture sunglasses forthe military, and are often worn by professional athletes and shooters becauseof the enhanced vision that they provide.

What I didn’t know is just how tough their lenses are. Whileattending the Grand Opening, one of the sales clerks provided a demonstration.First he took out a display board show the impact on the lenses by an objectfrom 5 feet. The next showed the impact of a pellet on the lenses. And the lastone showed the impact from a shotgun blast on the lenses.

But that wasn’t enough for the sales clerk to “fully” demonstratehow resilient the lenses are. So, he took out a brand new set of lenses and amallet. After giving a good grin, he proceeded to pound the  lens on the ground with the mallet (who hasn’twanted to do that?). When he picked it up, there was NO DAMAGE! Last year,Angels fans may remember that MVP Miguel Cabrera was hit in the face when aball took a bad hop. Now I know why many people credit the Oakley sunglassesthat he wore that day with saving his vision. Those things are TOUGH!

For fans looking for more than sunglasses, Oakley has acomplete sports lineup. Look at the photos in the video below. They have someincredible hats, shirts, sweatshirts, wallets, watches (yes, that’s me tryingon a watch), backpacks and more. They have unique Angels gear and Oakley gear.As they ramp up their MLB license with the Angels, they will be rolling outmore and more new products, so check out the store regularly for new products.

Aside from all the sick gear (several of the Angels shirtsand the red Titanium watch are on my wish list), four things really stood outabout the Oakley store. First, if you have ever wanted to customize yoursunglasses you can at this store. Have a specific need with your sunglasses,you can make it happen with the help of an associate to customize your own lookand lens. Want a pair of red and white Angels-themed sunglasses, you can getthem here!

Second, want to make the sunglasses truly your own? That’seasy, get them etched at the Oakley store. With an etcher on site (the only oneoutside of their headquarters), Angels fans can get their lenses etched withtheir name or with an Angels “A” logo on it! Better yet, order your sunglassesduring the game and a sales associate will bring them out to you to wear inyour seats! Same day service!

Third, Oakley is a responsible corporation. Knowing thatmany servicemen wear Oakley eyewear, Oakley created the Infinite HeroFoundation, an organization that supports veterans facing service-relatedmental and physical issues. They also created a unique line of products, whichcan be seen in the video (mostly purple and gray near the 1:14 mark), which are sold in the OakleyStore, which goes to support the foundation. Aside from looking good, theseproducts go to support a worthwhile cause.

Lastly, what stood out the most was just how hard the salesassociates hustled to help all the fans (while the store was mobbed, the salesassociates moved everyone VERY quickly and made sure that everyone got theattention that they needed). That was a welcome sign.

As an Angels fan, I’m excited about the Oakley store formany reasons. I see this as the future for Angels stadium. I asked Tim Mead,the Angels Vice President of Communications, about the Oakley Store and he said“We are pleased to be providing our fans with a quality experience at theballpark.” I could not agree more, and hope that the Angels continue to addmore branded and unique stores to the stadium to enhance the ballparkexperience. Fans will stay at the stadium longer and will find a greater valuefor their entertainment dollar.

During the Grand Opening, two Angels players, Howie Kendrickand Mark Trumbo, stopped by to talk about their experiences wearing Oakleyproducts. I was able to interview both and even snuck in some baseballquestions.

Click below to listen to the interview with Howie Kendrick.

Click below to listen to the interview with Mark Trumbo.

If you haven’t taken the time to check out the Oakley Storein the stadium, be sure to do so on your next visit to the stadium. As you headinto the stadium behind home plate, turn left, and it will be just past theSection 113 sign. You won’t miss it. The buzz surrounding the store will drawyou in and you will see an entirely different experience than you have had sofar at Angels Stadium.

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[Brandon]

Do I have to special order the limited Rickey Henderson edition?

[Chuck]

Great job reporting on this David. Good interviews with Kendrick and Trumbo too! 

[full circle]

Do they make a sweet looking blindfold so that you can avoid watching this steaming pile of a team in style?  

[Chuck]

If 1989 calls, I'll know where I can tell them to go shopping.

Is the Angels acid-wash jeans store open yet?

Wow you're really out of touch Cal's. Oakley has some awesome sunglasses but even better apparel IMO.

[LBHalos17]

Didn't  see anything about Angel/Oakley tie-in items... Hats, polos, etc.  Are they not a new sponsor?

[Dave Saltzer]

Didn't  see anything about Angel/Oakley tie-in items... Hats, polos, etc.  Are they not a new sponsor?

Did you watch the video? They had lots of really good Angels-only items. Hats, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Check it out.

[AZMike]

Do they make a sweet looking blindfold so that you can avoid watching this steaming pile of a team in style?  

You could rock a brown paper bag with a halo on top if that's the sort of thing you're into

[Glen]

I bet CJ is all over this.

[gotbeer]

Ballistic tested are their lenses.

 

Also.  Per a standard etching.  It'll be interesting to see what the charges are.  Custom order prices, or store prices.  Store prices mean if you want red lenses, you have to buy the red lenses seperately.  So you would have the lenses in the glasses and the red lenses.   Custom is cheaper since you only buy the red lenses.   

 

[gotbeer]

Oh, and do they have the hovercart?  That would draw people into the store.

[Reveille1984]

I actually work at the Oakley HQ in Foothill Ranch doing IT work (nothing to do with the retail side), and their sunglasses are no joke.  Their HDO Polarized lenses are insanely clear and crisp.  A lot of their proprietary lens technology sounds gimmicky with all these buzzwords ("XYZ" technology, hi-def optics and etc.) but they're honestly the best sunglasses I've owned.  

 

As far as apparel, its insanely overpriced at retail pricing (IMO) but its all high quality stuff.  I get it cheaper than wholesale and usually still have a hard time justifying the cost unless I'm just buying t-shirts.

[gotbeer]

So you can get us glasses for cheap?  

[Brian Ilten]

I actually work at the Oakley HQ in Foothill Ranch doing IT work (nothing to do with the retail side), and their sunglasses are no joke.  Their HDO Polarized lenses are insanely clear and crisp.  A lot of their proprietary lens technology sounds gimmicky with all these buzzwords ("XYZ" technology, hi-def optics and etc.) but they're honestly the best sunglasses I've owned.  

 

As far as apparel, its insanely overpriced at retail pricing (IMO) but its all high quality stuff.  I get it cheaper than wholesale and usually still have a hard time justifying the cost unless I'm just buying t-shirts.

 

 

Found out at the opening that you can get prescription lenses done by Oakley... going to get the prescription from the Dr and head out to Foothill Ranch.

[Reveille1984]

So you can get us glasses for cheap?  

 

I forgot the "I won't get you free sunglasses" disclaimer, damn.

[Tank]

Ballistic tested are their lenses.

 

if you read this in yoda's voice, it gives you a different opinion of gotbeer.

[Reveille1984]

Found out at the opening that you can get prescription lenses done by Oakley... going to get the prescription from the Dr and head out to Foothill Ranch.

 

I have a pair of the Crosslinks, they're pretty nice.  I just like how all their glasses curve around your eyes so the frame doesn't stick out like 2 inches off the corner of your face.  

[Brian Ilten]

I have a pair of the Crosslinks, they're pretty nice.  I just like how all their glasses curve around your eyes so the frame doesn't stick out like 2 inches off the corner of your face.  

 

I received a pair of the TwoFace at the opening.  I love the feel of them, I just need the prescription because I can't see past the nose on my face without it.

[Dave Saltzer]

If you went to the Oakley store last night, tell us what you liked the most in there.