VOL 26 ISSUE 15, April 14, 2025
The retail team at TD Garden – the multiuse arena owned and operated by Delaware North in Boston – was recognized in a recent Boston.com article for expanding women’s apparel offerings at The ProShop powered by ’47 and Delaware North Sportservice’s in-arena SHOPBOS locations.
The team has partnered with local female designers to bring more inclusive, fashion-forward styles to the store, which is located at The Hub on Causeway, adjacent to the arena. The article, titled “Meet the local female entrepreneurs spearheading a Celtics and Bruins fashion movement inside TD Garden,” highlights the evolution of women’s sports merchandise and collaborations between retail team members and local brands to expand offerings for fans.
Delaware North’s retail team at TD Garden works with countless local designers to highlight Boston brands, including BROdenim, founded by Laura Brodigan.
Excerpts from the story are below.
When Lauma Cerlins [director of retail for the ProShop] began working at what’s now TD Garden 30-plus years ago, women’s clothing supporting professional sports teams was predominantly an afterthought.
Retailers typically catered their products toward men, and creativity was sorely lacking. The main way women could rep their team was by donning a women’s version of the exact same style as the men’s version.
Then – at first gradually 20-plus years ago, and eventually exponentially in the past 10 to 15 years – women’s products started to enter the picture. Selections and sizes for fans of all ages emerged, as women gained another way to express themselves through their attire.
“People realized women don’t want to wear exactly what their husbands and boyfriends are wearing,” Cerlins said. “They want to wear different things. It started to change.”
She’s helped bring two local businesses, BROdenim and Mel the Clothing, to the ProShop in recent years. Every year, women’s clothing becomes a greater percentage of the shop’s overall business, Cerlins said.
Melissa Jacobs, merchandise manager for Delaware North Sportservice, is grateful that she’s encouraged to support women-owned-and-operated businesses at her place of work. She credited the NBA and NHL for promoting a local license program, which allows TD Garden to bring in local, unlicensed vendors who mean something in the local market.
“I think it’s been more generally understood how many female sports fans there are,” Jacobs said. “If there are items and opportunities for them to purchase women’s styles, they will. They’re looking to support their teams both at the game and in their daily life.”