Two new national retailers are opening in Springfield this week, both focused on outdoor activities and sporting goods.
Academy Sports + Outdoors has a grand opening scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, for the new location at 3211 S. Veterans Parkway. Academy Sports joins Old Navy in the Southwest Plaza III shopping center and is occupying the former Gordmans space, which has been vacant since 2020.
Academy Sports sells a variety of sports equipment along with men, women and children’s clothing geared to outdoor lifestyles. The Texas-based company was founded in 1938 and has operated under its current name since 1973. It became a publicly traded company in 2020 and has plans to open up to 100 locations in the next five years. Academy Sports has two other Illinois stores: a Peoria location opened in July, and an O’Fallon store has been open since 2016.
Sierra, an off-price retailer that specializes in active and outdoor brands, will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2601 S. Veterans Parkway. The location in White Oaks Plaza was most recently occupied by Overstock Furniture and Mattress and previously home to Babies ‘R’ Us.
“We’re thrilled to be opening a new store in Springfield, as the Illinois community is quite familiar with Sierra’s brands and offerings,” said Elisa Pouliot, vice president and marketing director for Sierra. “We pride ourselves on being a go-to for families’ fall active and outdoor essentials as well as a great place to save big on holiday gifting for the whole family.”
