Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the nation's largest sporting goods chains and with a longtime presence in Colorado Springs, plans to build a nearly 100,000-square-foot store on the city's north side, which one commercial real estate expert said raises questions about the future of one of the retailer's two existing locations in town.
Under a proposal submitted to city government planners, Dick's would build one of its House of Sport stores -- which combine the sale of sporting goods merchandise and apparel under one roof with activities such as climbing walls and batting cages -- at The Crest at Woodmen mixed-use development, southeast of Interstate 25 and Woodmen Road.
Part of an existing retail building at Crest of Woodmen and some surrounding parking areas would be demolished to create a 52,000-square-foot footprint to accommodate the two-story, 99,518-square-foot House of Sport building and an adjacent 18,500-square-foot outdoor track and field area, according to the proposal.
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Another portion of the retail building would be retained and remodeled for additional businesses; an existing Planet Fitness gym and fitness center apparently would continue to operate in the building.
The proposal describes a fall 2025 development schedule for the new Dick's store, indicating a target date for construction to begin.
The new Dick's store would be a significant addition for The Crest at Woodmen, which has taken shape over the last decade on the former 77-acre campus of Current, the Springs-based greeting card, paper products and gift company. The nearly 75-year-old Current, bought and sold several times over the years, continues to operate on the property, though it's been greatly downsized and now is known as Current Media Group.
Houston real estate company Realm Realty bought the Current campus in 2015 and has been redeveloping much of the property as The Crest at Woodmen. Among other users, Crest at Woodmen now is home to the 296-unit Rewind at Crest apartment complex, a Floor & Decor flooring store, a Maverik convenience store and Planet Fitness.
A Realm official declined to comment on the Dick's project; the retailer, based in suburban Pittsburgh, didn't respond to emails and phone calls seeking more information.
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Dick's, founded in 1948, sells a wide selection of sports gear, clothing and footwear for athletes and sports enthusiasts. It introduced its House of Sport concept in 2021 and now has 18 locations nationwide, according to the retailer's website. The Colorado Springs location apparently would be the first in Colorado.
A Dick's news release says the House of Sport "provides customers with an incredible assortment of products along with in-store experiences including a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with TrackMan simulators and HitTrax multi-sport cages that can be used for baseball, softball and soccer. Each experience gives customers the opportunity to try product and the Trackman and HitTrax technology helps them to measure and track their performance."
Some stores also have attached fields that can be used for "open play, clinics, league space or in some locations, as an ice rink in the winter," the news release said.
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Since early 2007, Dick's has operated at a roughly 50,000-square-foot space at the Chapel Hills Mall, northeast of Academy and Briargate boulevards and about 10 minutes north of The Crest at Woodmen, Gazette archives show.
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Dick's also has had a nearly 81,000-square-foot store at the First & Main Town Center, along Powers Boulevard between North Carefree Circle and Constitution Avenue, since the early 2000s. That store, on the Springs' east side, is about 20 minutes away from The Crest at Woodmen.
Representatives of Namdar Realty, the New York-based owner of the Chapel Hills Mall, and Norwood Development Group of Colorado Springs, which operates First & Main, didn't immediately respond to questions about the potential status of the Dick's Sporting Goods stores at their properties.
But if Dick's follows through with its House of Sport at The Crest of Woodmen, that could suggest it plans to close the nearby Chapel Hills Mall store, said Mark Useman, a senior broker and retail specialist with NAI Highland, a Colorado Springs commercial brokerage.
"I think they probably would close it," he said. "I don't know what their business plan is and if they think there's room for two big stores on the north end and in that proximity. You wouldn't think that they would do that. You would think they would close Chapel Hills and do this megastore (at Crest at Woodmen)."
The House of Sport, which would allow customers to walk-in, try out gear and equipment on a climbing wall or a driving range and then purchase it on site, sounds like a similar concept to Scheels All Sports, the North Dakota-based outdoor equipment, apparel and sporting goods retailer that opened a massive 220,000-square-foot store in 2021 at InterQuest Marketplace on the far north side, Useman said.
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"My guess is that's their (Dick's) attempt to compete with that and go a little further south at Woodmen and I-25 and capture that density down there," he said. The Crest at Woodmen location, Useman added, has good access for shoppers citywide because of its location just off the interstate.
A move out of the Chapel Hills Mall by Dick's would be another major change at the enclosed retail center, which opened in 1982.
In recent years, the longtime Sears department store at Chapel Hills was closed and demolished and an apartment complex built in its place. Meanwhile, a Burlington store that closed at the mall recently reopened as an indoor pickleball complex.
And financially troubled national chains that have downsized or gone out of business over many years have left the mall, such as J.C. Penney, Gordmans and Borders Books & Music.