Sports Megastore With Turf Field Approved For Cherry Hill Mall Lot

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Local officials have approved plans to replace the longstanding office building on Cherry Hill Mall's lot with a sports megastore.

The sporting goods retailer will feature a rock-climbing wall, batting cage simulator and other indoor recreation inside the two-floor store. It will also have an adjoining outdoor turf field.

The store will replace One Cherry Hill — the nine-story office building in the mall lot, which is slated to be demolished. It has stood since the 1970s.

Cherry Hill's Zoning Board approved the development plans during Thursday's meeting.

PREIT — Cherry Hill Mall's parent company — has not publicly revealed the store's name. But multiple news outlets have reported that Dick's House of Sport has been planned for the location.

Dick's House of Sport is part of Dick's Sporting Goods. But each House of Sport is about twice as the normal locations and features recreational areas for testing out equipment and holding events.

42Freeway first reported the plans to bring Dick's House of Sport to Cherry Hill Mall.

It's unclear when One Cherry Hill will get demolished and when the new store might open. A spokesperson for PREIT told Patch that more information will be shared on a later date.

Dick's Sporting Goods did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

The new store will have a footprint of 60,000 square feet. With two floors, it would be 120,000 square feet overall.

A synthetic surf field surrounded by a track will add 18,500 square feet. Customers will be able to test out their purchases in the outdoor area, which will also be a venue for sports clinics and local events. The field will be surrounded by at 36-foot fence.

Once the project is complete, Cherry Hill Mall's parking lot will have a few more parking spots than before. But 230 spaces will be eliminated during demolition and construction.

Cherry Hill Mall has more than 5,000 parking spaces, according to township documents.