The Sports Authority promoted Lon Novatt to senior vice president real estate, effective immediately. In this role, Novatt will continue to oversee all activities related to the company’s real estate initiatives.
“Lon has been overseeing our real estate function since October 2009 and has been doing an exceptional job of identifying new growth opportunities and managing our current store portfolio,” said Greg Waters, Chief Operating Officer for Sports Authority. “This is a well-deserved promotion and we are looking forward to capitalizing on the knowledge and experience that Lon continues to bring in this role.”
“I am very excited about this new role and implementing Sports Authority’s strategic real estate initiatives,” said Novatt. “Sports Authority is well-positioned to benefit from the favorable real estate opportunities currently available to national retailers and to further strengthen its market presence through an accelerated store growth program.”
Novatt joined Sports Authority in April 2007. Prior to that, he served as the senior real estate executive for National Stores, Inc. of Gardena, CA, and CSK Auto, Inc. of Phoenix, AZ. Novatt also served as a senior attorney for Broadway Stores of Los Angeles, CA, and was a Partner at Freeman, Freeman and Smiley of Los Angeles, a law firm with a real estate practice focused on the representation of national retailers and developers. In addition, Novatt attended Duke University and UCLA School of Law.
The Sports Authority operates 462 stores in 45 states. It also operates stores in Japan under a partnership with AEON Co., Ltd.
