Graphic artists Anie Buckmelter, left, and Julie Ward work on lettering on a sign for Harris Park in Lee Summit, Mo., last week at Star Signs, 801 E. Ninth St. in Lawrence. Star Signs recently agreed to create and install signs as part of renovations at Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals.

Router operator Justin Lohrmeyer checks a drill bit before using a router to cut a sheet of aluminum into lettering last week at Star Signs in Lawrence.

A Lawrence sign company is breaking into the big leagues with a big-time contract.

Star Signs, 801 E. Ninth St., reached a deal this month to create and install signs as part of renovations and upgrades at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

The home of the Kansas City Royals will be getting 1,482 signs in all – from restroom placards reminding employees to wash their hands before returning to work, to illuminated, 7-foot-tall stand-alone letters denoting the Royals Hall of Fame in an outfield plaza.

Star Signs was a logical choice to get the call for the work, given the operation’s ability to design and manufacture one-of-a-kind signs at the company’s complex in Lawrence, company leaders said.

“Everything we’re doing out here is custom, and that is their forte,” said Pat Delano, project executive for Hunt-Walton, the joint venture handling construction of the Kauffman renovations.

Producing such signs for sports venues represents a growing portion of the company’s project lineup.

Five years after providing signs for Kansas Speedway, and two years after handling such work for renovations at the Louisiana Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, Star Signs finds itself on the roster for even more sports jobs:

¢ A $500,000 contract to do signs for Intrust Bank Arena, now under construction in Wichita.

¢ A $450,000 contract to handle signs for JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo., a venue for Missouri State University set to open later this year.

¢ An ongoing contract to do signs for athletics at Oklahoma State University, including some for its hall of fame.

But the Royals contract is even bigger than all those and should raise the profile of the company’s capabilities, said Shelley Rosdahl, vice president for sales at Star Signs.

Among the specialty products included in the Royals job:

¢ A special crackle acrylic finish on the stadium’s Diamond Club sign, “so when we backlight it, it looks like diamonds.”

¢ A custom surface for “Home of the Royals” and “Welcome to Kauffman” signs on top of the dugouts, so that Royals mascot Sluggerrr won’t slip when dancing between innings.

“It’s fun for us,” Rosdahl said. “We like going after the custom things.

“Whether you’re going to an arena or a shopping mall, they’re more than just signs. They need to be part of the environment, to attract people, entertain people. That’s what architects are looking for: someone who can take their design clear through and make it happen.”