Dicks Sporting Goods hasnt wasted any time expanding its New England presence after losing out in its bid for the Bobs Stores real estate. The Pittsburgh-based retailer with its roots in Binghamton, New York opened its second Maine location at the Bangor Mall last week. The 69,000 square foot store includes a putting green to test new golf clubs, an archery range and a small-scale running track in the footwear department.
The Bangor store is now the largest of Dicks single-story format stores. DKS also has a store in Portland.
In Massachusetts, Dicks appears to be looking at a location in Saugus in the Square One Mall. The retailer is reportedly seeking to fill the slot of the sixth anchor store that was planned for, but never built at the location. Dicks is planning to open a 70,492 square foot two-story format store at the 120-store mall that hosts both an Olympia Sports and a Champs. The store would be the chains sixth store in Massachusetts.
Lucky number seven would fill a space at Sherwood plaza in Natick, MA. Dicks is currently working to gain approval to tear down the western section of the plaza and build a 68,000-square-foot store in the space once occupied by MVP/Decathlon Sports. The Dicks legal team appeared in front of Natick's Zoning Board of Appeals last week, but the hearing was continued until September 8 after a project engineer failed to appear. The plans must be approved by both the Planning Board and the ZBA and will require a variance on the height limitations set for the area.
