LeBron Miami Nights Shoe Packs Niketown Miami
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Miami Heat star LeBron James was persona non grata to most NBA fans after the infamous "Decision," but you wouldn't know it by the group of people standing outside the Niketown store in Miami Thursday.
Nike is set to release the "LeBron 8 V2 Low 'Miami Nights'" on Friday. But Thursday, a crowd gathered outside the Niketown store in South Miami for a shot at getting their hands on the shoes. Many spent the night waiting, some as long as 24 hours.
Chris Pierre originally got in line at 6 p.m. Wednesday and was number 70 on the list.
"We've been out her 16, 18 hours - hard work, sweat, no sleep, but we made the best of it," Pierre said.
But, the Thursday crowd didn't get the shoe; instead they got a wristband to guarantee a shot at getting the new LeBron shoes.
Hector Rodriguez said he got in line just in time.
"I was the last one I got the last pair of kicks!" Rodriguez said triumphantly holding up his wristband.
Still, plenty of people behind him in line walked away disappointed.
Henry Barough and his son waited in line for two hours and left empty-handed.
"We called them (Niketown) a couple of times," Barough said. "They said they were going to have the sneakers for us. They said there wasn't going to be a line."
But, most of those in-line were not buying the shoes for themselves. The shoes are already on Ebay for as much as $700.
"Hopefully they'll go up, so I can make a little profit as soon as possible," Rodriguez said, while describing the shoes as an "investment."
After those with wristbands receive their shoes, the remaining pairs will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
The shoe hasn't been released in the United States before, and is set to retail for roughly $150 a pair.
Niketown wouldn't release the number of wristbands given out, or the number of shoes in stock.
