By Kristin Rover
Sun staff
Hibbett Sports, a national sporting goods retailer, is planning to open their Amelia location by next summer, according to a release from the company.
The Birmingham, Ala., based company has 915 stores in the United States. Most locations are in the southeast, mid-Atlantic, and midwest.
This will be the first Hibbett Sports in Clermont County. The next closest location is in Alexandria, Ky.
The company caries a variety of athletic equipment, footwear and apparel including Adidas, New Balance, McDavid, Nike, Under Armor and other brands.
The company has a long history focusing on the needs of local teams and leagues in the areas of their locations, according to the release.
The company targets small to mid-sized markets.
Amelia officials first announced the arrival of Hibbett Sports when they broke ground for a new shopping center next to Kroger Marketplace in Amelia Nov. 9.
The center will house several stores including Hibbett Sports, Petco, Verizon Wireless, GNC, and more.
The center will also have free standing businesses including a Wendy’s.
Select Strategies, JDL Warm Construction and Park National Bank are involved in building the new center and securing the tenants.
Brian Neltner and Mike Paolucci with Select Strategies said that they wanted to bring a shopping center to the area because they saw a hole in the market in Amelia and knew it was a busy area.
“Amelia Olive-Branch Road dead ends into the property,” Paolucci said during the ground breaking ceremony. “It is the busiest intersection not connecting to a highway.”
Paolucci said they have been working on developing the center in Amelia for several years.
Paolucci said they are still working to secure one tenant for the shopping center under construction and additional tenants for the next phase of the shopping area.
Construction has been underway on the new shopping center since officials broke ground in November.
Todd Hehman, superintendent of the project for JDL Warm Construction, said the conditions have been cold and wet so they didn’t have a great December.
“It will get better,” Hehman said.
For more information about Hibbett Sports, visit www.hibbett.com. For more information about Select Strategies, www.selectstrat.com.