Dick’s Sporting Goods just opened a massive store with a virtual driving range and outdoor track.
Dick’s Sporting Goods 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.
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 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 Ed Stack, executive chairman, chief merchant and former CEO, more stores will be opening in other states with this format in coming years.
“The vision that I laid out for this concept was that we wanted to build the store, … the experience, that would put Dick’s Sporting Goods out of business,” Stack said in a recent interview.
According to Stack and Dick’s 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.
The company said it plans to allow local sports teams to use its field for meetups, and it has a conference room that can be booked for other types of gatherings.
“Between the service model that we put in [House of Sport], the experiences, the games, the product … we really look at this as it’s almost like starting a brand new company,” Stack said.
Here’s a glimpse inside — and outside