Dick's Sporting Goods opens Waterworks location to shoppers

Dick’s Sporting Goods’ newest location opened its doors to shoppers this week.

Despite advertising its grand opening on the weekend of June 20, the newly minted location at The Waterworks shopping center, near Aspinwall, welcomed shoppers to peruse the aisles.

Marty Becker, of Fox Chapel, visited the new shop Wednesday afternoon. He was excited when he saw the store would have a new home in The Waterworks. There wasn’t a convenient location for Becker to shop until its opening, he said.

“I’m a golfer, and I need some new golf shoes and other golfing equipment, so I’ve been waiting for this store to open,” Becker said.

The new store is in The Waterworks’ former Walmart anchor space. Walmart operated its store in the plaza for nearly 20 years before closing it in 2022, citing underperforming sales.

Construction began in January for the 50,000-square-foot store. It joins other anchors including Giant Eagle, T.J. Maxx and Dunham’s Sports.

Mara Mrvos, a spokesperson for J.J. Gumberg Co., the shopping center’s owner, did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Dick’s website, there will be a grand opening event from June 20 to 22. In addition to sales, specials and prizes for shoppers, Pittsburgh Steelers player Joey Porter Jr. is scheduled to appear from noon to 1:30 p.m. on June 21.

Dick’s Sporting Goods representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Hannah Liu, 16, of Sharpsburg, visited the store Tuesday afternoon. She saw the new store had a “Now Open” banner and decided to shop for shorts.

“I thought it was going to be way smaller, but it’s huge,” Liu said about her reaction to the store.

Liu is a rising junior at Fox Chapel High School. She used to visit the Dick’s location at the Pittsburgh Mills mall, but was happy to see the store move closer to where she lives.

“Nobody really goes to the Mills anymore. … The roads are bad, and it’s kind of out of the way,” Liu said.

Sunday was the last day of business for the Dick’s store at the Mills, according to signs posted there.

The departure of Dick’s leaves Macy’s as that mall’s only anchor tenant. But Macy’s is poised to leave the mall, too, as its two-story, nearly 173,000-square-foot store was put up for sale this year.

Wouter Hendrix, of Indiana Township, visited the new Dick’s store Wednesday afternoon. He has previously shopped at the location at Ross Park Mall and said the new location provides a more convenient commute for him.

“I feel like this was a really good idea to put this store here,” Hedrix said. “It’s an area where Fox Chapel kind of converges.”

The new location is now the only Dick’s in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Nearby locations include Dick’s House of Sport at Ross Park Mall and Dick’s Sporting Goods at Monroeville Mall.

Staff writer Joyce Hanz contributed.