SAN JOSE – A premier sporting goods retailer has leased space in San Jose that currently houses a prominent bookstore, a deal that marks a new success in the South Bay real estate market for a shopping center.
Sports Basement has leased 86,000 square feet of space in Almaden Plaza, 5353 Almaden Expressway in San Jose, according to commercial real estate broker Jim Fletcher and the sporting goods retailer.
The sporting goods retailer is taking over several spaces in Almaden Plaza, notably the existing Barnes & Noble location and the adjacent, closed branch of a former Buy Buy Baby store.
According to real estate experts, Barnes & Noble is expected to look for a new location for a branch near San Jose.
Dave Rumberg, partner at Sports Basement, believes Sports Basement sees great opportunity and a potentially fertile area in San Jose, and his responsibilities include leading the retailer’s efforts in locating and developing new locations.
“San Jose has always been a destination for Sports Basement,” Rumberg said. “We believe San Jose, the community and the surrounding area need to have access to Sports Basement.”
The new San Jose store is an expansion for Sports Basement. The sporting goods retailer operates a store in Campbell in the Pruneyard complex. The Campbell store will remain open.
Sports Basement will occupy a prominent location in Almaden Plaza, a major retail and restaurant center near the intersection of State Route 85 and the Almaden Expressway.
“This center, with its visibility and its location near the freeway, will be an absolute winner for Sports Basement,” said Fletcher, a Bay Area broker who arranged the lease.
The Sports Basement deal is the third major lease agreement that Almaden Plaza has signed in recent months.
Recent high-profile leasing transactions at Almaden Plaza include:
— Hobby Lobby has leased 62,000 square feet of retail space and is preparing an upstairs store formerly occupied by failed retailer Bed Bath & Beyond. This will be an expansion for Hobby Lobby.
— The Benihana restaurant will take over a 9,000-square-foot restaurant space formerly occupied by Red Lobster. Benihana will leave Vallco Mall, a largely demolished ghost mall in Cupertino.
According to Sports Basement, the new sporting goods store is scheduled to open sometime in the third quarter of 2025 (July to September).
The retailer offers a unique approach to sporting goods as its stores are essentially multiple retail units in one large location.
“Sports Basement is a collection of small retailers under one big roof,” Rumberg said. “Running, triathlon, hiking, skiing, biking.”
The retailer’s goods and services also overlap with team sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball and lacrosse.
“If you walk into one of our stores every day, you will find employees who have great expertise in these areas,” said Rumberg.
The retailer wants to be involved in the community, both by serving customers and by hiring local workers, Rumberg said.
“Sports Basement has really tried to create a positive presence in the Bay Area,” Rumberg said.
He estimated that the retailer would likely hire 55 to 75 full-time employees for the new San Jose store.
Sports Basement hopes to be price competitive with its offerings in the ongoing retail battle with Dick’s Sporting Goods and REI.
“Prices are rising everywhere, but overall we hope that a basket of goods at Sports Basement will cost less than anywhere else,” Rumberg said.
Sports Basement was founded in 1998 with a store in San Francisco and currently operates 11 locations in the Bay Area. The San Jose store will be the retailer’s 12th.
Sports Basement recently expanded into Southern California for the first time, opening a store in Orange County and planning another in Long Beach.
“We are a community-focused retailer that measures our success not just by sales, but also by how well we serve the communities we are part of,” Rumberg said.
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