Last week, Nike and Foot Locker banded together to form a bricks and mortar retail experience like no other. The two companies opened their first House of Hoops retail store in New York City on 125th street.

The nearly 4,000-square-foot store, which also serves as a kind of community basketball hangout, features Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse brands, with each getting a branded area.

Over then next 3 years the two companies plan to open 50 stores. The House of Hoops locations are the only place to find shoes with the precise designs of such NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Lebron James and more. There are also a few other cool in-store features that include

Among other areas, the store has a Hoops Essentials area and a VIP area, where visitors can read magazines, or watch commercials and behind-the-scenes interviews with the players on a 65-inch TV screen. The store also has a community section with an electronic community board and a ticker posting real-time scores from local high school basketball games, relevant basketball news, and information about upcoming store events.

If any of you NYC’ers can sneak a few pics of the new store and send them my way, I would truly appreciate it.

Source [MediaPost’s marketing Daily]