Dick’s Sporting Goods ‘House of Sport’ Coming To Tampa International Plaza
If you’ve been to Tampa International Plaza recently, you’ve probably noticed all of the construction going on. What once was a Lifetime Fitness is now a gutted facility with construction equipment going in and out. The brand new Dick’s House of Sport is coming to Tampa Bay.
Back in April, the Tampa Bay Business Journal had reported that Dick’s Sporting Goods was in talks with Tampa International Plaza’s owners to relocate the Dick’s at Westshore Plaza. With recent documentation of building permits under the House of Sport label, this new concept is making its way to Tampa Bay.
After the Lifetime fitness had moved to its new location at the former Harbour Island Athletic Club, Dick’s saw an opportunity to expand and bring to life the new concept at the Tampa International Plaza. The new House of Sport concept is a whopping 50,000 square foot store and the company plans on opening 75 to 100 house of Sport stores by the year 2027.
The owners of WestShore Plaza have yet to make any comments about the possible departure of the major sporting retailer. With redevelopment plans for WPG, the owner of Westshore Plaza, this could present a sticky situation.
Ed Stack, Dick’s Sporting Goods executive chairman said after the quarterly earnings reports came in August, “We haven’t seen growth opportunities like these since we went public in the early 2000s.”
What makes Dick’s House of Sport different from the traditional store?
When you walk into this new concept store, you’ll experience the difference right away. You’ll see the traditional Dick’s selection of merchandise and goods, but with a more hands on experience. House of Sport concepts have batting cages, golfing simulators, rock walls and more. As big retailers are seeing a decline in in store traffic with the rise of internet shopping, this could bring consumers back into the stores to experience the good first hand.
Checkout this video from Dick’s YouTube channel to give an inside look at what the new House of Sport concept is bringing to the table.