Thursday, August 28, 1997

Academy changes mind again, plans to open

By ANTHONY WILSON / Abilene Reporter-News

Academy is back in the hunt for Abilene's sporting goods customers.

The Houston-based chain on Wednesday replaced a "for sale" sign on its 5.19 acres at John Knox and Cedar Run with a "coming soon" announcement.

Academy's chief operations officer reported the company expects to break ground in November on a 52,500-square-foot store that will open in April.

The store, offering a full line of sporting goods including athletic shoes, apparel, exercise equipment, and hunting, fishing and camping gear, will employ about 100 people.

"We think Abilene is a sports-enthusiastic community," said Arthur Gochman, Academy's chief operating officer. "There's a lot of baseball, soccer, hunting and fishing there. We think we're going to do great in that community."

In April, a day after Century Theatre announced it was building a 12-screen cineplex in southwest Abilene, developer B. Jack Turner revealed Academy would open a huge store on an adjacent tract.

But less than a month later, Academy unexpectedly put the property on the market without an explanation.

On Wednesday, Gochman confirmed rumors the retailer didn't want the theater for a neighbor, fearing its clientele would hog Academy's prime parking spots.

Academy finally relented after Turner rearranged its site so a 200-foot buffer separates the businesses.

"It was no big deal," Turner said. "It was just a matter of working out the best thing for them. This has made everybody happy."

Gochman said the company wanted the site because of the "synergy" created by the Mall of Abilene and other large retailers that attract Abilenians and out-of-town visitors to the area.

Academy operates 42 stores, 37 of them in Texas, in four states. The company will expand into three more states within the next six months, Gochman said.

Turner reported construction on the 40,000-square-foot Century Theater should begin around Oct. 1. The cinema will debut by next summer.