In the past month, as the shelves were stocked and merchandise was being moved into the Statesboro Academy Sports+Outdoors store on Northside Drive, store director Paul Butler had to tell “a lot of folks who stopped by ‘we’re not ready to open, but come back soon.’”
Well, “soon” is Saturday at 8 a.m. when the store opens its doors to show off its brand new 39,000-square-foot showroom filled with sporting goods, equipment, clothing, footwear and even a selection of their own brand of grills.
“We like to say we're a one-stop shop,” said Brooke Murski, Academy’s external communications director, who helps with the marketing for the opening of new stores. “So, while you're getting your hunting gear, you can get a dog toy and a new pair of running shoes and some athletic shorts for the gym. Whatever you could possibly need sporting goods wise, we try to offer it all.”
The Statesboro store was home to a Publix supermarket from 1994 to 1998, but had stayed vacant since then in the University Commons shopping center. Butler said the inside was completely bare when he first saw it in January.
“One thing I have heard from a lot of people who come inside for the first time is they are surprised about how big it is,” Butler said. “From the outside, it doesn’t look like we have the space we do.”
At 39,000 square feet of floor space and an additional 6,000 of backroom storage, the Statesboro store is actually a little smaller than a typical 50,000-square-foot Academy Sports+Outdoors store. Academy operates more than 320 stores across 21 states. The Statesboro store will be the 24th to open in Georgia.
Butler started working for Academy in 2015 and the Statesboro store is the second store he has overseen opening. He opened an Academy store in Yulee, Fla., near Jacksonville, in November 2024.
Butler said the Statesboro store currently has 82 employees, with some overstaffing to help get the store opened. He expects to have 60-65, including about 20 full-time, employees in the months ahead.
Even though the store is opening Saturday, Murski said Academy will have a Grand Opening Weekend Oct. 2-4 and will donate $5,000 to the community, which will be part of an ongoing effort to be a long-time community partner.
Also, Academy began a partnership with St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis several years ago, where a portion of sales during the holiday season is donated to St. Jude’s. Murski said Academy donated $500,000 last year and has donated about $2.5 million since the partnership started.
Grand opening festivities will include a ribbon cutting the morning of Oct. 2.
“Customers can expect fun events for the whole family, including free gift cards to the first 150 customers who are 18 years or older, and interactive demonstrations by brands sold at Academy Sports+Outdoors,” Murski said.
Regular store hours will be 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday.
