A decade after a court battle shut down Dick’s Sporting Goods’ efforts to move into The Gardens Mall, the retailer is making another bid for the spot once occupied by Sears.
This time, the sporting goods giant doesn’t want to simply sublease part of the former Sears space in Palm Beach Gardens: It wants to fill it and then some — with plans for indoor climbing walls, outdoor ball fields and more.
The court battle over Dick’s efforts the first time centered on its ability to sublease space in the mall, but it is also remembered by many for the discussion about gun sales in the store after officials with the retailer sought clearance to sell firearms and ammunition there.
City officials said in 2017 that selling weapons at the mall would show disregard for public safety. Concerns escalated after a shooting in the mall’s parking lot that year.
In the intervening years much has changed.
Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling guns after the Parkland school shooting in 2018. And it eventually dropped its plans to open at The Gardens Mall, which became the site of another shooting on Valentine’s Day in 2024. By March 2024, the Sears was fully closed.
Now, new plans involving Dick’s have surfaced. The mall’s owner filed plans with the city in late June to open a 140,000 square-foot store by the national sporting retailer in the two-story space occupied for 36 years by Sears, an original anchor at the high-end shopping mall along PGA Boulevard.
This wouldn’t be just any Dick’s store. This would be Dick’s House of Sport.
In addition to selling sports equipment, it would offer in-store experiences with rock climbing walls, batting cages, golf bays and virtual reality sports. Dicks has opened similar destinations in Miami and Tampa.
“This is one that we’re really excited about,” Shannon Yeakel, senior director of real estate development for Dick’s Sporting Goods, told the city staff at a development review committee meeting on Aug. 26. “We’ve been excited for years. As you all know, we’ve been around for years, so we’re just really looking for a great partnership with the emergency services and the staff and the city of Palm Beach (Gardens) in general.”
Dick’s House of Sport would bring an outdoor sports field to The Gardens Mall
In the mall’s application, it said Dick’s is needed to “further the mall’s position within the region’s retail market,” citing its goal to have an “innovative” mix of stores.
Dick’s wants to build an 18,500 square-foot outdoor sports field at the eastern side of the mall that would host games, birthday parties, sports clinics, summer camp, fitness classes and athlete appearances, according to the application. Visitors would be able to access the field from the inside of the Dick’s store.
If the project is approved, it would add more than 47,000 square feet to the mall, which would be used for mall shops. The southern part of the expansion is expected to welcome Arhaus, a furniture store which is already in the mall.
The expansion would also reduce the number of parking spaces at the mall.
At the Aug. 26 meeting, city staff members expressed concerns about the proposed 37-foot-tall fence that would go around the outdoor field and its proximity to the parking lot. City code limits athletic fences to 15 feet.
The staff also asked the mall to add crosswalks around the store and improve the landscaping and architecture. Anne Bestland, a city senior planner, said the proposed architecture is “dramatically different and disjointed from the rest of the mall.”
Another city staff member said the design needs a more modern look.
“It doesn’t have to be the exact same as the rest of the mall, but some cohesion and compatibility with the existing structures would help it blend and be just more cohesive with the rest of the mall,” Bestland said.
Dick’s has tried to open a store at The Gardens Mall for more than a decade
In 2011, Sears began discussions with Dick’s about subleasing its second floor to the store, according to lawsuits. However, the city blocked the effort, questioning Sears’ ability to sublease. The mall also argued that Sears could did not have that right.
In 2012, The Forbes Co., the mall’s owner, sought and gained a resolution from the city, which that said Sears couldn’t lease its space without the approval of both the mall’s owner and the city. Sears sued the city over this and won. It also sued the mall.
Multiple lawsuits followed. As the cases moved through the courts and rulings and appeals were made, Dick’s submitted plans that the city and the mall never agreed upon.
This time, the mall is on the side of Dick’s. The House of Sport project must be approved by the city’s planning and zoning board and city council before it can move forward. The city has not yet scheduled dates for these votes.
Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dick’s Sporting Goods wants to open at The Gardens Mall with sports field, rock climbing
Reporting by Maya Washburn, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
