Dick’s Sporting Goods is planning a huge “House of Sport” in the Maine Mall after it moves from an adjacent, smaller mall.
I95Rocks.com is reporting that the nationwide sports outfitter in gearing up to open an “experiential” retail outlet with batting cages, turf fields and a rock-climbing wall.
The new facility will be located in the old Sears store at the Maine Mall that Dick’s bought last year.
It will replace the current store located at a smaller strip mall off Gorham Road in South Portland.
Meanwhile, Dicks is also relocating from its current location on Stephen King Drive near Kohl’s in Augusta to Augusta Crossing alongside Target, Best Buy and Lowe’s.
The new Augusta store could include a Lids store inside Dick’s.
Lids is set to open more than 100 locations inside Dick’s outlets across the country, I95’s Joey Dionne.
Lids is a leading retailer known primarily for its big selection of official licensed sports, collegiate, and fashion headwear.
In addition to hats, it offers a wide range of fan gear, including apparel, novelties and custom-embroidery services.
Dionne says Dick’s expansions reflect the company’s bullish economic optimism.
“While many major retailers in America have taken a hit in recent years, Dick’s Sporting Goods has simply gotten more aggressive,” he writes.
“The company isn’t sitting around waiting for malls to collapse or for Amazon to control every facet of the marketplace,” Dionne added. “Instead, Dick’s has been trying to make their footprint larger.”
Bad move this state does not like businesses.