Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) on Friday is holding the grand opening of the biggest store it has ever built.
Called House of Sport, this new format has a ton of features. The retailer’s goal was to create a space where visitors not only come to buy sneakers but to spend an afternoon playing sports and other physical activities.
The more than 100,000-square-foot space is at the Eastview Mall in the Rochester suburb of Victor, New York. It includes an indoor rock climbing wall, golf driving bays, a putting green and a health-and-wellness shop, as well as an outdoor track and a turf field — all things that Dick’s is testing for the first time.
Dozens of big-name brands, including Yeti and Vans, have dedicated spaces within the store to show off new products. They sit alongside Dick’s private labels DSG, Calia and VRST. Nike (NYSE:NKE) has the most space of all, including an area near the mall’s entrance for the Jordan brand. It’s the most room Dick’s has ever given Nike within a store.
Dick’s is already planning to open its second House of Sport this year in Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to CEO Lauren Hobart, certain elements of House of Sport are going to slowly be incorporated into more of Dick’s current locations, based on how well they’re received. The mini health-and-wellness juice shops or the space dedicated to cleats, for example, could become features in dozens of the retailer’s other stores.
DKS shares advanced 95 cents, or 1.2%, to $82.89.
