Dick's Sporting Goods Westward bound

PITTSBURGH — Dick's Sporting Goods took another step in expanding out West with the announcement that it will build a distribution center in Goodyear, Ariz., that is expected to bring approximately 120 jobs to the area when business opens in early 2013.

The distribution center will be designed to ultimately support approximately 160 stores as Dick's Sporting Goods grows its store base in the Western United States over the next 5-10 years and is eventually expected to employ up to 300 associates, the company reported.

The distribution center will occupy 600,000-sq. ft. across more than 50 acres of land and will reside at 4651 N. Cotton Lane at the confluence of Interstate 10 and Loop 303 as an anchor tenant in the master planned 1,600-acre PV303 business park.

"We are extremely pleased to announce our plan to build and open a distribution center in the City of Goodyear, Ariz., and further our commitment to the overall strategic growth of the organization," said Lee Belitsky, SVP at Dick's Sporting Goods. "This distribution center, our fourth nationally, is a positive step in the expansion of the Dick's Sporting Goods footprint in the western United States. We're excited to establish deep roots in the greater Goodyear community and help play an important role in the active daily lives of the people who live, work and visit here."

Construction on the approximately $40 million distribution center is scheduled to commence in December and conclude early in the first quarter of 2013. The building phase is expected to bring more than 375 temporary construction jobs to the area. An additional $18 to $20 million in capital investment in technology and automation equipment is expected to be injected into the project's development prior to opening.