Academy Sports + Outdoors plans to open its first Gardendale store in November, a 55,000-square-foot location at 650 Gayle Street that's expected to bring about 60 new jobs to the city. The store will sell sporting goods, outdoor recreation products, apparel, footwear, hunting and fishing equipment, camping supplies, outdoor cooking products and team sports equipment to customers across Gardendale and surrounding communities.
According to WBMA, the retailer did not provide additional details about specific positions or starting wages for the roughly 60 jobs it expects to create. The station reports the new location will carry merchandise from Nike, Adidas, Jordan Brand, Carhartt and Stanley alongside Academy's own private-label brands, and that the Katy, Texas-based chain now operates 17 other locations across Alabama.
The Gayle Street address sits near Odum Road and immediately adjacent to a LongHorn Steakhouse close to Exit 271, a spot positioned to draw both local shoppers and regional interstate traffic, as detailed by Adam Ray. The site marks Academy's fourth store in the Birmingham metro area, joining existing locations along US Highway 280, in Hoover and in Trussville, and it's the chain's first along the Interstate 65 corridor in Jefferson County, per Bham Now.
Store Planned Near Exit 271
Bham Now reported that Mayor Stan Hogeland announced on Facebook in October 2025 that Gardendale had been chosen for the store. The planned store will add another retail option in Gardendale.
The new store also complements Gardendale's broader investment in youth athletics infrastructure, including a $32 million renovation and expansion of Bill Noble Park completed in 2023, the same Bham Now report states. That kind of sports infrastructure tends to draw tournament traffic that can support retail demand nearby.
Store Fits a Bigger Corporate Push
Academy Sports + Outdoors has set a corporate plan to open 20 to 25 new store locations nationwide during fiscal year 2026, following 24 openings in 2025 and 16 in 2024, according to a release cited by Academy Sports + Outdoors. The company typically invests between $4 million and $5 million in capital to construct and open each new store as part of a strategy targeting growing mid-sized markets, per Retail Dive.
The company also announced a donation of more than $10,000 connected with two 2026 openings, the investor release adds. Gardendale's population stood at approximately 16,425 in 2025 with a median household income exceeding $82,000, a demographic profile that tends to attract major national retail chains, per Census data compiled by Data Commons.
Revenue Growth Along the Corridor
The Academy Sports opening adds to a run of commercial activity in northern Jefferson County, following plans for a $30 million Publix-anchored center in nearby Kimberly.
Whether the Gardendale store's opening spurs further commercial fill-in along Gayle Street and Odum Road, potentially forming a second retail strip alongside City Street, remains to be seen as the November opening approaches.
