Academy Sports plans Waxahachie opening before holidays

Photo courtesy Academy, Ltd.

WAXAHACHIE — Academy, Ltd. announced on Wednesday plans to open an Academy Sports + Outdoors in Waxahachie before the holiday season begins.

"Academy Sports + Outdoors has been a Texas tradition for over 75 years, and we’re excited to offer active-minded families in Waxahachie with a convenient location of their own," says Ken Attaway, Academy Sports + Outdoors executive vice president, chief operating officer. "We can’t wait to welcome holiday shoppers and look forward to being an active member of the Waxahachie community for years to come."

A press release from Academy, Ltd. states the store will be nearly 63,000 square feet and create approximately 100 jobs. Individuals interested in careers can visit www.academy.com/careers to apply for positions.

"Academy Sports + Outdoors is known throughout its home state of Texas for its commitment to being the low price leader on its wide selection of casual and athletic footwear and apparel, team sports and golf products, patio sets, barbecue grills, along with hunting, fishing and camping equipment and gear at everyday low prices," the release stated.

"A cornerstone of the Academy Sports + Outdoors philosophy is active community support and grassroots involvement throughout its footprint. The company has a history of giving back to local communities through partnerships with sports teams, youth organizations, and outdoor conservation programs. Locally, Academy Sports + Outdoors is the Official Sporting Goods Retailer of the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers, and also supports conservation groups including CCA Texas, Ducks Unlimited and National Wild Turkey Federation along with many local youth leagues."

Additionally, Academy will provide similar services as its other existing DFW locations. Those services include scope mounting, bore sighting, line winding/spooling, propane exchange, racquet stringing and sales of hunting and fishing licenses along with local team licensed apparel and novelty items.

The new store will be located in a new shopping center being developed on Hwy 77 between Bessie Coleman Blvd and Country Meadows Blvd across the highway from Buffalo Wild Wings.

Hunt Properties, Inc. and other investors are developing the 26-acre shopping center.

According to Silverado Interests, "Waxahachie Marketplace featured a 178,856 square foot to-be-built retail development on a 26 acre site located off highway 77 in Waxahachie, TX. We partnered with Hunt Properties, because they are one of the most experienced developers of big box retail in the country, and we have a significant amount of experience investing with them."

"Consistent with other deals with Hunt Properties, they expected to have significant preleasing in place before making the investment. The prospective tenants included Academy, TJ Maxx, Ulta, and Methodist Hospital to name a few, which are all national credit tenants."

The City of Waxahachie approved tax incentives in February 2015 for the development.

"Hunt was able to obtain tax rebates from the city totaling $7 million. This allowed them to build at a substantially lower cost basis which ultimately creates a great projected return to investors, especially considering the high level of pre-leasing which significantly minimizes the downside risk," Silverado Interests stated on their website.