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South Florida apparel printing companies worked around the clock Thursday night to prepare the first pieces of apparel featuring the names and numbers of the Heat’s new stars LeBron James (No. 6) and Chris Bosh (No. 1).

The team, meanwhile, began a waiting list for fans still hoping to score season tickets, after halting sales Thursday.

The Heat has had some practice with the effect of adding a big superstar to the roster. When Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Heat in July 2004, the team struggled to keep up with jersey orders and season tickets sold out almost immediately.

But with James — a brand unto himself — and Bosh joining championship-winning superstar Dwyane Wade on the Heat, the impact is larger and at the moment immeasurable.

Pre-orders for jerseys and other gear at Heat.com overnight Thursday were equivalent to a typical two months of sales, said Andy Montero, Heat senior director of retail operations.

“It’s like getting Elvis,” said Montero, who was overseeing retail sales at the Miami Hoops Gear store at AmericanAirlines Arena. “It’s hot market, it’s code blue, whatever you want to call it.”

On the ticket side, the Heat was prepared this time.

“We had a plan in place that if it came to this, we knew exactly what we were going to do,” Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said. Instead of letting season ticket buyers snatch up every seat at the arena, the team has held back a quarter to a third of the 19,600 seats — mostly in the 300 and 400 levels — to sell as season tickets, in mini-plans, to groups and as individual tickets, Woolworth said.

“When you sell out almost of all of your season tickets, you start playing to almost an exclusive audience,” Woolworth said. “There aren’t as many people in the community who can see the games. We want to make sure there are tickets available to every game.”

Fans can call 786-777-HOOP to reserve a spot on the season ticket waiting list. The team has raised prices on any future season tickets sales and plans to vary the cost of individual tickets depending on the game. Additional tickets are expected to go on sale after the NBA schedule is released likely in August.

Fans weren’t waiting to buy merchandise. Atlas Embroidery & Screen Printing in Fort Lauderdale and 5th & Ocean Clothing of Hialeah, were among local companies printing apparel. On Saturday, T-shirts are scheduled to be in some Wal-Mart locations from Florida City to Jupiter, and in Champs stores.

Scott Becher, president of Sports & Sponsorships in Boca Raton, had to stop at two Sports Authority locations to find the right size black James T-shirt for his son, who is at camp in Massachusetts.

“I went out to get a shirt so he can be the first one at camp with one,” said Becher, who like most South Florida Heat fans gets the magnitude of the team’s overnight transformation.

“I guess Pat Riley convinced LeBron that playing God solo in Cleveland can’t top headlining the Heat holy trinity in South Beach. All that remains are the miracles called championships.”

Sarah Talalay can be reached at stalalay@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4173.

Retailers in South Florida are already seeing dividends paid on LeBron James’ decision to sign with the Miami Heat.

Mitchell Lombard, owner and president of Atlas Embroidery & Screen Printing, shows off a freshly screened LeBron James shirt. In addition to a new team, James is changing numbers from his familiar 23 to 6, the same number he wears with USA Basketball.

The color palette of sports marketing in Miami has long been dominated by the aqua and orange of the Miami Dolphins, but expect to see a lot of the black and red of the Miami Heat, starting today.

LeBron James, the king of the NBA, said Thursday he would join all-stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami.

“First of all, these guys, they want to win championships, so it’s not about the money for these guys,” said Alan T. Brown, president of PrimeTime Public Relations & Marketing. “These guys want to build a dynasty.”

Adam Cohen, VP of sales for Atlas Embroidery & Screen Printing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had six T-shirt presses on standby Thursday night, and was on a conference call with adidas when James announced his decision.

“As soon as he said ‘South Beach,’ I said ‘spin ‘em, spin ‘em, spin ‘em,’” Cohen said.

A few hours later, tens of thousands of T-shirts had been shipped to the American Airlines Arena, Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Champs Sports, Cohen said. “There were people lined up at all these stores before the merchandise arrived.”

Cohen expects the Heat will have the type of national following that the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bulls had during their dynastic periods.

“This is one of the largest things that has ever happened in professional sports–ever,” he said. “They are basically assembling an all-star team that’s going to compete against the rest of the league.”

There will be a windfall economic impact, with tons and tons of Heat merchandise being sold, he said. After being up all night, he was trying to grab a few hours of sleep before another tractor-trailer load of 30,000 to 40,000 Heat items arrived for finishing.

The potential benefits to the South Florida economy are huge since home games will be high-profile national sporting events that should draw even more South Beach glitterati to the American Airlines Arena.

The area’s tourism industry should reap a bounty of international media attention and an influx of visitors who want to see games. Broadcasts will also provide plenty of beauty shots of South Beach and the Miami skyline– a welcome contrast to recent coverage of the region’s housing bust.

“To have LeBron join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh is truly like hitting the lottery for Heat fans,” said Scott Becher, president of Sports & Sponsorships in Boca Raton, Florida.

Fans in some South Florida neighborhoods reacted by setting off rounds of fireworks on Thursday night, even though it was four days after the Fourth of July.

Getting all three players is a stunning achievement for Heat President Pat Riley, who has already won five NBA championships, and owner Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company.

The news changes everything for the Heat, Becher said.

“Every game is a sellout. Every game will feel like an all-star game. There are paparazzi. There will be more global interest in the Heat than ever before. Life as we know it as Heat fans has officially changed for the better.”

According to Steve Nudelberg, who has the title of principal thinker at On the Ball Marketing in Plantation, Florida, in the pecking order of South Florida professional sports, even before James’ announcement, the Heat were clearly atop the Miami Dolphins, who have been rebuilding under Executive VP Bill Parcells, and the Florida Marlins, who are building a new stadium in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.

The Heat had lost a bit of luster in recent years after winning a championship in 2006, Nudelberg said.

“Over the last year, it was not the ‘in’ place to be,” he said. “This is a South Beach property and the light is on again.”

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) — A Ft. Lauderdale t-shirt printing company is especially thankful LeBron James chose the Miami Heat; they say they’ll be printing James t-shirts for weeks.

Adam Cohen, Vice President of Atlas Embroidery and Screen Printing, said they brought in extra workers for James’s decision in hopes of firing up the presses. Cohen said they plan to make tens of thousands of shirts over the coming weeks.

“We’ve got 70 employees coming in tonight so it’s a great little kick in the behind for business,” Cohen told CBS4′s Carey Codd Thursday night.

The first batch of shirts should ship out at 4:30 a.m Friday and be available in South Florida stores Friday morning.

The shirts have the James name on the back and the #6 — apparently, the number James will wear with the Heat.

Cohen said it’s great for business and great for the area.

“We’re psyched to be a part of this,” Cohen said. “We’re South Floridians, and this is the best thing that could’ve happened.”

Cohen admits to a bit of inside knowledge about the decision. He said Adidas — the official apparel maker of the NBA — sent him the design for the James shirt a few days ago. Then, Adidas shipped in dozens of boxes of blank t-shirts Thursday.

Cohen is also prepping t-shirts for new Heat player Chris Bosh and returning superstar Dwyane Wade.

Cohen hopes Atlas Embroidery is printing more than individual jerseys in the years to come. When asked if he planned to print championship t-shirts, Cohen said “I hope for the next four years.”