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Dick’s Sporting Goods coming to AV Mall

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(L to R) Antelope Valley Mall Marketing Director Tricia Granger, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford and State Senator Steve Knight share a laugh at a press conference at Antelope Valley Mall Wednesday to announce the redevelopment of the Harris/Gottschalks building and plaza.
(L to R) Antelope Valley Mall Marketing Director Tricia Granger, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford and State Senator Steve Knight share a laugh at a press conference at Antelope Valley Mall Wednesday to announce the redevelopment of the former Harris/Gottschalks building and plaza.

PALMDALE – Dick’s Sporting Goods will be moving into the Antelope Valley Mall next year, Palmdale City officials announced at a press conference Wednesday.

“Having Dick’s Sporting Goods come to the mall, it solidifies Palmdale’s role as the premier shopping destination in the Antelope Valley, certainly in the entire high desert region,” said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford.

Granger unveils a rendering of Dick's Sporting Good at AV Mall.
Granger unveils a rendering of Dick’s Sporting Goods at AV Mall. (See renderings below)

Dick’s will occupy a portion of the former Harris/Gottschalk’s building, which has been vacant since 2009, according to Tricia Granger, Marketing Director for the AV Mall. She said the 113,000-square-foot space was purchased in February by Forest City Enterprises, the parent company to the AV Mall.

“[Dick’s] will be a taking up a little over 55,000 square feet of the building…and they will open in the fall of 2014,” Granger said.

Founded in 1948, Dick’s has more than 500 stores nationwide. The Fortune 500 American corporation is family-owned and operated. Read more about Dick’s here.

Dick’s will occupy a portion of the former Gottschalk’s building, which has been vacant since 2009.
Dick’s will occupy a portion of the former Gottschalk’s building, which has been vacant since 2009.

“God bless Dick’s for coming to Palmdale because they are that store that, if you want something in sports, Dick’s has it,” said State Senator Steve Knight. “It’s just another addition to our great mall… it’s just another reason why we don’t have to go over the hill.”

Along with the opening of the new Dick’s Sporting Goods, there will be other improvements to the Antelope Valley Mall come next fall. Plans are underway to renovate the entrance plaza, Granger said.

“The renovation will include a new water feature… as well as new trees, new plants, and an entertainment stage,” Granger said. “We’ll be able to welcome local entertainment to come out and sing and perform for the community.”

“It’s just one more reason you don’t need to leave the Antelope Valley to do your shopping,” Ledford said. “You can all shop locally, it’s all right here in the city of Palmdale.”

Dicks coming to AV Mall 5

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Filed Under: Business, Palmdale

57 comments for "Dick’s Sporting Goods coming to AV Mall"

  1. just another business thats not going to make it. they are all over priced for this city,and the rents to high at the mall.

    • Oh, you think? Not to mention that this Walmart of sporting goods stores will cause the closure of a handful of other smaller (some locally owned) sporting goods retailers in very close proximity to it.
      Like the decision to build another WalMart in Rancho Vista, Palmdale (in this case) has no problem destroying small business in it’s never ending quest for more quick fix tax revenues.

    • Let me guess, David.

      Dick’s Sporting Goods knows more about where to locate a business and running it successfully than you do.

      • Maybe Dicks should have hired Scott Ehrlich. He could do for them what he did for Lemmle, his W hotel, Brittany’s, et al. Then take the money and run.

        • I just emailed a ‘Have Your Say’ suggestion to the AV Press asking if Rex’s statments and actions towards Palmdale and Quartz Hill have caused some harm to small businesses in Lancaster, especially the BLVD, as some people decide to stay away.

          We’ll see if they print it. I’m sure it would get a lot of feedback.

  2. I am happy to see the last vacant anchor store at AV mall get occupied. Sports chalet should be put out of business, their prices are to high. dick’s will bring jobs, and will revitalize the mall.

    • Did you hear yourself, Rozey?

      You say Dick’s will bring jobs while wanting Sports Chalet to go out of business. If it did, we would lose jobs for a net gain of maybe a couple of new jobs at Dick’s once you subtract the lost jobs at Sports Chalet.

      Now, go back and re-think what you wrote.

    • Rozey you do realize thats Dicks and Sports Chalet charge the same amount for the exact same products right?

  3. Soon Sports Chalet will be going out of business, Dick’s will end up being overpriced with few customers and trying to pay their overhead from being a MALL store. Palmdale needs massage parlors!

    • “…few customers…”???? I’m sure Dick’s knows when and where to open a business. How many places have come and gone on the BLVD in a few short years?

      The median household income in West Palmdale is around $70,000/year. That’s why retail corporations open at the Antelope Valley Mall and not anywhere in Lancaster…………well, except for Walmarts.

      Nice try, though.

  4. Why all the negative comments all the times?
    Read about the Companies who are relocating or opening stores in Palmdale before you start typing your negative comments about our Town.
    Lancaster? Who cares about Lancaster, and his Mayor? The Boulevard?.. I’ve been there couple times only…. I am NOT planning to visit this Rex-Boulevard again.
    People, this is a SMALL Town…. we should be grateful when a new company relocates or open new stores in our town…. People still complains that this is not enough… Come on… Don’t tell me that you expect a new “City WALK”, or a new “Disney Town” to relocate to Palmdale….LOL!!!

    • I’m so glad your positive! Glad to see you approve of Palmdale getting a DICK Store! Palmdale has better stores than Lancaster!

  5. That’s great that they’re now putting in a store. Retail is great but that’s not bringing jobs. We need manufacturing up here! Come on Ledford, start looking around for companies that will produce jobs for all the unemployed up here. Have you seen that it’s all the young people getting jobs. People in their 30’s + are out of work. This is not a resort town!

    • Kinkisahro with 200 plus jobs and the power plant with hundreds of trades jobs is a pretty damn good start considering this economy. Being unemployed sucks 4shure but seeing forces try to stop job creation in the AV is pure evil. You can’t blame Jimbo for that. You need to look a bit farther north for that.

    • Gemini, you need to address your comments to Buck McKeon, he and his ‘gun tottin’, bible thumping party’ have kept their foot on the brake of this economy since Bush crashed it in 2008. They’ve done nothing to help. They want it to fail so the President won’t be re-elected………………..again. They are somthing.

      • William,

        The president cannot get reelected. Aside from that fact when will you folks accept the fact that the current administration has done nothing to improve the economy. There only play they have is a shell game where they dip their hands into some folks wallets to give to other folks.

        The self proclaimed most transparent administration is hardly that. Do you actually read the paper? This administration tells half truths and the Obamabots follow blindly.

        Keep in mind that under the tenure of this President, Rich have gotten richer and the middle class is in decline. Take off your blinders. I have hope for you William…

        • Sheesh, Jim. I certainly know that he can’t be re-elected but the tea party which sounds like you belong to it still acts like they did on inauguration day 2009 when they plotted to make him a one-term president.

          Then, last year, more tea people campaigned on shutting down the government, got elected to the House and kept at it until they succeeded in shutting it down costing the economy billions.

          Yeah, Jim. BTW I have NO hope for you. It’s in your DNA. You guys just don’t get that it’s very difficult to run the United States when one party of crazies does everything they can to obstruct everything and hopes for failure to blame on the President.

          One of my favorite actions on behalf of the tea party nuts is a couple years ago, Boehner put a bill to a vote that the republicans really didn’t want passed, so the Democrats outsmarted them and voted ‘Present’. Boehner had to hold the vote open a few more minutes so that some republicans could change their ‘Yes’ votes to ‘No’. That’s just one example of their idiocy. There are many, many more.

          They ran on ‘jobs, jobs, jobs, then when they took office in January, they started up with ant-abortion stuff and other of their nonsense but no jobs bills.

          I don’t even care if you get it cause miracles are rare and it would take one for you to get it.

          • William, You are quite the witty one.

            No not a tea Bagger. Yes I have voted for Republicans and I have also voted for Democrats. I tend to think and vote as a centrist.

            What makes our country great is that generally the realists in government understand that they do not represent the party. They are suppose to represent the people. Extremists on both side need to be drawn towards the center.

            Too many folks, maybe you included, vilify the other folks and think their party knows it all. I for one do not want government controlling my life. Does not matter what party is in charge…

            I can pick my own health care, decide whether I want to support abortion, gay rights and even own a gun. Don’t need the nanny state telling me how to think.

            The sad reality is that many folks vote on party line without the slightest inclination of how that will impact their lives. While you have given up on me William I would never do so on you. Please free your mind from the machine by studying issues and then making your own rational unbiased decisions.

            I am fine with your right to be wrong but it sounds as though you would not extend that same courteously to me.

            Free your mind William…

          • Wow! Jim. You didn’t dispute anything I wrote.

            “nanny state” sounds like what viewers of Fox News constantly say.

            You may not like things President Obama has done but you try driving a car when the person in the passenger seat is grabbing the wheel to drive it over the cliff………….over and over. And, that person doesn’t even have a license to drive (lost the election).

      • William you do realize the huge role democrats played in the economy crashing dont you? Or is it easier to ignore that the root of the cause was due to a decision made before Bush was in office?

        You bring up the republicans shutting down the government yet fail to bring up why. You also fail to mention that what they wanted done, delaying of the individual mandate, is now being brought to the front by democrats. Something they said that wouldnt happen that directly led to the shutdown.

        The current administration hasnt done squat about the economy or any other of the serious problems the country faces. The republicans dont have to hope for failures as the administration has done a good job of sinking themselves.

        • Jason that’s been the Democrats plan all along when it comes to jobs. The more people out of work, the more they get on the dole, the more votes they get come election time. Same with the undocumented immigrants and the reason the Democrats want amnesty.
          Good point about Bush. Both the House and the Senate were held by the Democrats when Bush was Prez in 2008 when the “Great Recession” began and we were told it was Bushes fault. Now the Republicans hold one branch of government (Democrats two branches) and it’s still the Republicans fault.

  7. I have never shopped at a Dick’s Sporting Goods…

    Are they any good?

    Not sure what the big deal is, considering that we have a Sport Chalet about 1 mile to the South on 10th Street West.

    Is this going to be like when Circuit City relocated to across the street from Best Buy….? With one of the “big box stores” eventually going out of business?

    I’ve been saying for YEARS… We already have more than enough places to SPEND OUR MONEY here in the A.V.

    These politicians need to be putting considerably more effort into establishing more places to EARN OUR MONEY here in the A.V. with great paying jobs.

    • Yes. Dick’s is one of the top tier stores. A major plus considering how not good the Sport’s Chalet is.

    • While more manufacturing and other job creators are welcome, this is a valley of 500,000 people and until the last 20 years, people had to go down below to spend their money to shop for many things. Some still do.

      So, we shouldn’t forego all the new retail and dining establishments until the manufacturing jobs catch up. That’s how it works in most outlying growing exurbs.

      With all the retail provided by the AV Mall, it is attractive to companies to locate here so their employees will have not only affordable housing but lots of amenities as well. It’s a selling point. Otherwise, they could move to Mojave or California City for the cheaper land.

  8. No $$$ give away Mayor Ledford????So we have a new store coming and we didn’t have to pay them $4 Million tax payer dollars to have them locate here like Mayor Ledford said we had to pay to get Macy’s here. WEIRD!!!!

    But it doesn’t seem fair for Dicks maybe someone should tell them because Ledford loves to give public money away instead of fixing pot holes in the city!

    • Really dude? Ledford is responsible for all the good things that have happened in Palmdale. You must be a buddy of Rex.

    • @Jason Zink. You complain when Mayor Ledford gives money to a store and you complain when he doesn’t.

      You’d complain if they hanged you with a new rope.

      You complain when the sun is shining and you complain at night when it isn’t.

      What is your problem? Hormones?

  10. Where is Jimmy stealing the money from now to pay for this? Dick’s is only taking up a portion, so someone else is footing the cost.

    • “palmdalian” maybe when you learn to read you will will discover that forest city did the deal and not jimmy. I know this is foreign to you and how business is done with raymond. it is pretty amazing what the private sector can do given he chance and not beholden to the fern street mafia.

    • Really? Had you taken the time to actually read the article you would know that the mall management worked the deal…not the Mayor of Palmdale.

      • Exactly! Ridiculous, two sports stores so close to each other!

        Better put one just down the street around the corner. :\

        • It would be like putting an Albertson’s and a Ralph’s in the same shopping center.

          But, the 2 stores blocks apart isn’t so unusual.

          There’s a Staples a couple blocks down 10th Street West from an Office Depot but, again, it would be silly to put them in the same shopping center.

          Sheesh. You guys must be new.

          • Remember when there was a circuit city across from best buy? That was a favorite! We find it suspicious that two similar companies be allowed to take up such near ground,I find it suspicious they put a Carls and a chilis right across from a gym….job security…

  13. Great news for the mall, great news for Palmdale tax revenue and even better, new and more jobs in the AV.

    Cue TRex and his minions to come up with Debbie Downer reasons why this is not a good thing.

      • Well, according to Adam Chant, the BLVD is for incubating small start up businesses so they can move elsewhere later or something.

        I doubt that this sports store needs ‘incubating’.

  14. “Palmdale a premier shopping destination”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????? You are nuts! Oh, and you can keep your present health insurance plan,,,,,,,, period.

    • What has the ACA debaucle have to do with Dick’s Sporting Goods? Honestly…who are these people and what have they done with the original Valleyites?

    • Well, then, Bob, where is the ‘premier shopping destination” in the entire Antelope Valley? It’s not competing with places in Los Angeles to be the ‘premier’ just here. Unless you think Valley Central Way is IT.