Cherry Hill Mall is getting a Dick’s House of Sport

A Dick’s House of Sport will bring a large expansion of experiential retail to the northeast corner of Cherry Hill Mall in 2026, adding a climbing wall, golf simulators, a running track, and batting and soccer cages to the 1.3 million-square-foot shopping center.

The Inquirer reported in November that a 120,000-square-foot, two-story sporting goods store with interactive elements would be replacing the 57-year-old office tower that currently occupies part of that corner of the site.

Now the property’s owner, PREIT, is officially revealing other new retail tenants they are welcoming to Cherry Hill Mall while highlighting the new capstone tenant.

“In the other malls where they’ve opened [Dick’s House of Sport], we’ve seen increased traffic flow” to the rest of the property, said Joe Aristone, PREIT’s chief revenue officer. “It’s a great catalyst and anchor for the asset.”

In 2025, Cherry Hill Mall also will add retailers including the luxury fashion brand Coach, shoe seller Dr. Martens, pop culture collectible purveyor Pop Mart, and activewear brand Offline by Aerie.

But the House of Sport is PREIT’s headline acquisition. The company frames it as a new front door to the mall, offering not just retail but an array of interactive experiences that encourages shoppers to linger.

“If we can get people to spend more time at the property, then they’re more likely to have a better shopping experience,” Aristone said.

Attractions include a climbing wall and Trackman golf simulators that will allow players to practice indoors. An 18,000-square-foot outdoor track and field space will allow customers to try equipment before they buy. Multisport indoor cages will allow visitors to practice baseball, lacrosse, and soccer — and give another opportunity to test the sporting goods.

PREIT hosts a House of Sport at its Viewmont Mall in Scranton, and the company has been impressed by its ability to attract shoppers beyond what might be imagined as Dick’s core customer base. That made it an even more attractive tenant to replace the faded office tower in Cherry Hill, where the costs of rehabilitation wouldn’t have been worth the rents PREIT could command post-pandemic.

House of Sport is also an example of a broader kind of interactive retail that has been attracting users since the pandemic. (DICKS was represented by Brian Bruzek of CBRE for the deal with PREIT.)

As traditional retail faces competition from online sellers, storefronts in downtowns and malls alike have been courting businesses that offer the kinds of in-person interaction that can give property owners a competitive advantage against internet-based sellers.

In Center City, businesses like mini-golf purveyor Puttshack, an F1 Racing Arcade, dart bar Flight Club, and gaming-centered Barcade have popped up in recent years. To the east of Cherry Hill, a former Moorestown department store is being considered for transformation into an entertainment center featuring a go-kart racetrack and ax throwing.

These are the kinds of businesses that help traditional retail centers offer an alternative that “the Amazons of the world are unable to compete with,” said Eric Flocco, executive vice president of Wolf Commercial Real Estate, in an interview with The Inquirer last year.

Many malls have struggled in recent years, and PREIT itself suffered two bankruptcies and now has new owners. But the Cherry Hill Mall remains the crown jewel of the company’s business and the premier shopping center of South Jersey.

Aristone says that these acquisitions ensure that Cherry Hill Mall will continue its preeminent position with top-of-the-market traditional and experiential retail. He said the South Jersey property is well positioned to attract shoppers from Center City, especially as it loses traditional retailers like Macy’s and as the Fashion District, which Macerich took over from PREIT, still struggles.

“You are going to see the growth of that Center City customer to our mall,” Aristone said. “We have a very strong Macy’s, and I think that customers who lose the experience of shopping at the Macy’s downtown will probably migrate over to Cherry Hill.”