Herman's Sporting Goods announced yesterday that it has
signed a letter of intent to open a 50,000-square-foot sports
emporium at the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex on
New York's Hudson River Waterfront. Called "We Are Sports By
Herman's," the new sports emporium is expected to open in late
1995. The store will have a design resembling a stadium, with
graduated levels of selling floors surrounding the main
amphitheater. Herman's CEO Alfred Fasola said that the new
emporium will generate a first-year revenue of $15M: "The new
store will be one more example of Herman's dominance in the
sporting goods retail in the Northeastern United States"
(Herman's). Herman's will spend $5M to construct the store "to
match the imagination of the sports enthusiast's wildest dreams."
The store will include two separate 4,000 square foot specialty
stores featuring Nike and Reebok products, as well as a 1,500
square-foot Speedo store. It will also have a travel agency
offering "adventure trips," and a box office to sell tickets to
sporting events. The redevelopment of the Piers also includes
building an an ice rink and an in-line skating rink. Among the
leaders in the redevelopment effort are Roland Betts and Tom
Burnstein, two of the Texas Rangers' five principal owners
(Judith Evans, N.Y. NEWSDAY, 11/17).
NOT TO BE OUTDONE: Sports Authority "makes its long-awaited
debut" in New York with a store opening across from Madison
Square Garden. Sports Authority officials "claim the timing of
the Herman's announcement was deliberate" to offset any publicity
Sports Authority would get for its first NYC store. But Fasola
"coyly insists it was a coincidence" (Jonathan Auerbach, N.Y.
POST, 11/17).
