Dick’s Sporting Goods taps J.J. Watt to help launch virtual House of Sport concept
The nation’s largest sporting goods retailer is teaming up with a pro football legend to guide shoppers through a new immersive online store environment.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is rolling out an interactive online version, dubbed Virtual HOS, of its Dick’s House of Sport experiential retail concept, which combines an extensive product assortment with such features as a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with TrackMam simulators, and HitTrax multi-sport cages that can be used for baseball, softball and soccer. The experiences gives customers the opportunity to try out products.
An avatar of former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt, who played 12 seasons with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals, guides customers through the virtual store while highlighting interactive features such as the climbing wall. Watt has been a brand ambassador representing House of Sport for Dick’s since March 2024.
[READ MORE: Dick's launches House of Sport ad featuring J.J. Watt amid concept expansion]
Dick’s Sporting Goods partnered with Napster, a technology and entertainment company specializing in the development of AI-based 3D immersive experiences, to create the Virtual HOS environment.
"Napster's partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods demonstrates how immersive experiences can create authentic connections between brands and consumers, turning digital discovery into meaningful engagement," said John Acunto, co-founder and CEO of Napster Corp.
According to Dick’s, it developed the idea for Virtual HOS in 2023 to build awareness for the House of Sport concept. Virtual HOS is shoppable and schedulable. Customers can add featured products directly to their Dicks.com cart for a seamless shopping experience and can also book services or reserve time slots for activities like sports camps, fitness classes or birthday parties.
"I love House of Sport and having the chance to experience it without even stepping foot in a store is next level," said Watt. "Imagine being able to explore every facet of the ultimate destination for sports from anywhere. It’s a real game changer and I’m thrilled to be a part of it."
Other immersive virtual retailing efforts Dick’s has been involved with include its 2022 back-to-school campaign called "Sport Your Style," offered in collaboration with the Roblox metaverse gaming platform. Users could interact with each other, collect stickers, badges and style points by competing in activities and challenges, and purchase virtual items for their avatars, although no physical items were available to buy.
There are currently 23 Dick's House of Sport locations across the country with 12 more opening their doors by the end of 2025. Dick's plans to have at least 75 House of stores open by 2027.
Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Dick’s Sporting Goods operates more than 850 Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Public Lands and Going Going Gone! Stores nationwide.
