Dick's Sporting Goods is planning to turn its existing Hunt Valley store into a sprawling, two-level House of Sport, expected to open at Hunt Valley Towne Centre in spring 2028. The 130,000-square-foot concept would keep the retailer's current footprint and expand onto the shopping center's ground level, creating a much bigger destination built around climbing walls, golf simulators and multi-sport batting cages rather than just racks of gear.
According to The Daily Record, the planned store would use Dick's Sporting Goods' existing space at the center and expand onto the ground level, creating a two-level sports destination. The outlet reports the build-out is expected to include a rock-climbing wall, golf bays, TrackMan simulators and a HitTrax multi-sport cage that will track performance across baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer. Shoppers will still find the traditional lineup too, with footwear, apparel, team sports, golf, fitness and outdoor categories all planned for the floor, as WMAR-2 News also reported.
Greenberg Gibbons, the developer behind the shopping center, announced the project, with company President Eric Walter framing it as part of a broader shift at the property. The concept, he said, continues to evolve beyond traditional shopping to offer engaging, interactive experiences, per the same report from The Daily Record.
A Shopping Center Already Mid-Makeover
The House of Sport news lands on a property that has already been investing in itself. Hunt Valley Towne Centre has undergone recent enhancements to the central plaza space and the Regal theater, the outlet notes, and the center previously completed a $10 million upgrade, according to a report from the Baltimore Business Journal. Spanning roughly 925,000 square feet, the center is anchored by Wegmans, Regal and Onelife Fitness, giving the new sports retailer a built-in flow of foot traffic from fellow anchors.
It would not be Maryland's first taste of the format. Dick's already operates House of Sport locations in the state at its Annapolis and Gaithersburg stores, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Hunt Valley shoppers who have visited either of those stores will likely recognize the blueprint, even as the exact layout for the Hunt Valley site has not been detailed.
Part Of A Fast-Growing National Format
Hunt Valley's planned store fits into a chain-wide push that has been building for years. Back in 2023, Dick's said it planned to open between 75 and 100 House of Sport locations by 2027, according to PennLive, which reported that nine new locations opened that same summer alone, including one at Viewmont Mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania. More recently, a May report from Chain Store Age described additional House of Sport openings planned for Annapolis, California and Joliet, Illinois, with stores in the format typically featuring a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with TrackMan simulators, an outdoor track and field, and a multi-sport cage.
Other regions have gotten their own versions of the concept recently too. A 100,000-square-foot House of Sport at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, North Carolina, moved into the mall's former Sears space, according to the News & Observer, bringing the same mix of a climbing wall, TrackMan golf bays and a multi-sport cage for baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer players. The formula has also landed at Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey, where a rock wall, batting cages and golf simulators were designed to keep shoppers playing, not just buying.
For now, Hunt Valley shoppers have an opening season to look forward to but not a firm date. The spring 2028 target leaves roughly a year and a half before the climbing wall, golf bays and batting cages are expected to open on the shopping center’s ground level, giving the shopping center time to fold another experiential anchor into its recently refreshed plaza and theater.
