Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. opened a regional distribution facility at the Broome County Corporate Park, 9.4 miles south of Binghamton, in Conklin, NY. The hub is expected to create over 450 full-time jobs during the next five years in the Southern Tier.
According to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office, the new Dick’s distribution center strengthens the company’s roots in Binghamton, where it was founded seven decades ago, and is aligned with Southern Tier Soaring, the regionally-designed comprehensive strategy to revitalize communities and grow the economy. Dick’s new regional distribution facility is its fifth nationally, and will service more than 160 retail locations throughout the Northeast.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Chairman and CEO Edward W. Stack said, “We are so proud to have built this facility here in the Greater Binghamton area. I can only imagine how excited my father would be if he were able to see a facility like this in the place where we grew up and where he started with a small bait and tackle shop at 453 ½ Court Street seventy years ago.”
In 1948 the company was founded in Binghamton by Dick Stack.
“On behalf of the over 40,000 associates at Dick’s Sporting Goods, we’d like to dedicate this building to him. I want to sincerely thank everyone involved in the project for all their hard work in making this building become a reality, plus New York State and Broome County governments for their partnership. This is a great example of the public and private sectors partnering for the benefit of local communities,” he added.
To encourage the company’s expansion in New York, Empire State Development offered up to $5.25 million through a Southern Tier Soaring Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant, and up to $6 million through the Excelsior Jobs Program in exchange for the job commitments in the region over the next five years. The total project cost was more than $84 million.
“New York is committed to unlocking the economic potential across upstate, and we are proud that Dick’s Sporting Goods is growing and expanding right here at home, and bringing new jobs to the Southern Tier,” Governor Cuomo said. “The opening of the Dick’s distribution center is another clear sign that our strategy of tapping into regional assets to attract private investment is working and the Southern Tier continues to soar.”
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, chair of the regional Economic Development Councils, who attended today’s event, said, “Dick’s Sporting Goods is an American success story founded in Binghamton, and New York State is rightfully proud of that. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, this Administration has a strategic vision to invest in our upstate communities and create good paying jobs for all New Yorkers. We’ve done it in Buffalo, and now we’re going to do it in Broome County with the new Dick’s distribution facility in the Southern Tier.”
Empire State Development president, CEO and commissioner, Howard Zemsky said, “Today’s grand opening of the new Dick’s distribution facility will create hundreds of jobs and is a great example of the success we’re having in attracting private sector investment to the Southern Tier.”
Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Tom Tranter, president of Corning Enterprises and Harvey Stenger, president of Binghamton University said, “The Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council is so proud to support an established company like Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has committed to creating hundreds of new jobs in the region. This project is tangible proof that the Southern Tier Soaring economic development plan is working. This partnership will mean more than 450 new jobs for the region, which truly illustrates what can happen when the public and private sector work together in support of local communities. Congratulations to Dick’s and welcome home.”
