Parks and Recreation

With its new Public Lands stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods is venturing further into the values driven terrain that has defined its past few years.

- By Talib Visram. Photograph by AKIRA

A new store opened in the suburbs of Pittsburgh in September. Built to resemble a rustic— albeit enormous—country cabin, the 50,000-square-foot space is really eight stores in one, each devoted to a different outdoor or adventure activity such as camping, fishing, or paddling. But there’s more than just goods on shelves.

The cycling shop, for example, sells bikes, but also offers repairs and rentals. Climbing instructors don’t just fit customers for climbing shoes; they facilitate test runs on the store’s 30-foot climbing wall. There’s even a concierge on hand, advising shoppers about local parks, classes, and environmental volunteer opportunities. Employees aren’t just there for the transactions, but to foster a community around America’s 640 million acres of parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. One percent of sales from this store, called Public Lands, goes toward a fund supporting conservation efforts led by national and local nonprofits, including the Conservation Alliance and Allegheny CleanWays.

Public Lands, which is opening a second location, outside Columbus, Ohio, in December, and has a growing e-commerce arm, is a new retail concept from Dick’s Sporting Goods. The athletic giant, which has 852 stores across the United States and brought in $9.6 billion in revenue in 2020, is known for courting the proverbial soccer moms, golfing dads, and their Little League–playing kids. But Public Lands, which is headed by Todd Spaletto, former president of the North Face, is aimed at a new demographic: the kinds of urban professionals who are increasingly invested in supporting retailers that reflect their values.