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Discussion

July 4, 2012

Giant sports retailer coming to Dalton?

Charles Oliver charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com

Dalton could be getting an Academy Sports and Outdoors on Shugart Road.

Whitfield County Building Inspections Administrator Greg Williams says RealtyLink, a Greenville, S-C.-based developer, has submitted plans and gotten approval to build a “60,000 to 62,000-square-foot” building on Shugart, just north of the Petco that is currently under construction. RealtyLink is the developer behind the Petco and the nearby Kohl’s.

RealtyLink’s website shows an Academy Sports and Outdoors on the site of the planned building. Officials at RealtyLink did not immediately return telephone messages. And Academy Sports’ corporate offices could not be reached immediately on Tuesday.

“It is our understanding that the developer has finalized plans with Academy Sports. We anticipate they will open sometime in the latter part of this year,” said Elyse Cochran, executive director of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority (JDA).

Academy Sports and Outdoors’ website shows the closest store currently to Dalton is near Hamilton Place in Chattanooga. Some people shopping at Shugart Road stores on Tuesday said they were happy to hear an Academy Sports might be opening in Dalton.

“Maybe it will bring in shoppers from outside this area. It will certainly create some jobs,” said Dalton resident Tricia Devoe.

Cochran said the JDA does not yet have numbers on how many jobs the store will create or what sort of economic impact it will have on the area.

“We have asked for that information. But we do not have it yet,” she said.

But Cochran said the store should provide a boost that the community needs.

“It’s a very exciting time for our community. We had the Kohl’s open last year, and we now have plans for an Academy Sports. With the economy still struggling, these are very positive signs for our community and our citizens,” said Cochran.

At Monday’s meeting of the Dalton City Council, city officials noted that sales tax collections rose 9.3 percent in the first five months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, almost twice the rate of growth in sales tax collections for Georgia as a whole.

“We should continue to see sales tax collections increase as we add new retailers,” Cochran said. “That particular location (Shugart Road) with its visibility from the interstate has the potential to draw shoppers from outside the community.”

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