Academy Sports + Outdoors to add distribution center in Tennessee

New facility will bring approximately 700 new jobs to the Cookeville, TN/Putnam County area over a five-year period

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Aug 08, 2014, 11:30 ET

KATY, Texas, Aug. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy, Ltd. (d/b/a Academy Sports + Outdoors), a premier sports, outdoor and lifestyle retailer, will open a distribution center in Cookeville, TN to support its continued expansion. Academy Sports + Outdoors will begin construction on the facility later this month with plans to become operational in early 2016. The company is expected to hire approximately 700 associates over a five-year period with initial hiring to begin in Fall 2015. This will be the company's third distribution center.

"The new distribution center will support the long-term growth and continued expansion of Academy Sports + Outdoors while enabling us to provide our customers with quicker access to their favorite sports, outdoors and lifestyle products for the entire family," says Rodney Faldyn, CEO & President. "We appreciate the partnership with Governor Haslam, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Hagerty, the Industrial Development Board, Mayor Swallows, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the city of Cookeville and Putnam County officials, and we want to recognize their tremendous efforts in bringing our new distribution center to this community."

Academy Sports + Outdoors' new distribution center will be over 1.6 million square feet on 200+ acres near the Highlands Industrial Business Park along I-40 on the west side of Cookeville. The future site is south of Old Stewart Road, north of Bob Gentry Road, and east of Mine Lick Creek Road.

"I want to thank Academy Sports + Outdoors for this announcement, which speaks volumes about the state's ability to support strategic distribution and logistics operations," Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said. "From the existing Academy store presence throughout Tennessee, to the hundreds of new jobs that will be created through the new distribution center, to their ongoing store expansion, Academy Sports + Outdoors will have a positive economic impact on the state of Tennessee for years to come."

Academy Sports + Outdoors is known for its commitment to being the low price leader on its wide selection of products including: team sports; casual and athletic footwear and apparel; golf; field & stream and camping; patio, BBQ, recreation and leisure; and sports and fitness equipment and gear.

Individuals interested in careers can visit www.academy.com/careers to apply for positions.

Academy Sports + Outdoors currently operates nine stores in Tennessee with a tenth store planned to open this fall in Memphis. The company is headquartered in Katy, TX with a distribution facility there as well as a second distribution center in Jeffersonville, GA in Twiggs County.

About Academy Sports + Outdoors
Academy Sports + Outdoors is a premier sports, outdoor and lifestyle retailer with a broad assortment of quality hunting, fishing and camping equipment and gear along with sports and leisure products, footwear, apparel and much more. The Texas-based company operates 178 stores throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The Academy Sports + Outdoors philosophy is to deliver an unparalleled shopping experience by providing convenience, offering a broad selection of quality products, delivering exceptional customer service and selling the right stuff at every day low prices. For more information about Academy Sports + Outdoors visit academy.com, facebook.com/academy, twitter.com/academy, pinterest.com/academy, youtube.com/academy and instagram.com/academy.