DICK’S House of Sport is now open at the Minnetonka, MN Ridgedale Center, and you’ll want to check it out ASAP.

THE FACILITY

As you walk in, you’re greeted by a large Jumbotron screen above you that broadcasts both local and national games and sporting events. You’ll first notice how bright, open, and airy the store is – something we’re never felt at any other sporting goods store! Your eyes are then drawn to the large center display that changes seasonally with the fall’s best athletic wear and products.

Immediately to your right is a large service desk that is the perfect one-stop shop for all sports services such as bike tune-ups and repairs, ice skate blade sharpening, baseball glove steaming, and tennis racket restringing. If you have equipment that needs something fixed or tuned, they make it quick and easy to drop off and pick up right inside the store with an impressive one-day turnaround time.

Since this new store concept is only the third such implementation in the country for DICK’S (only others being in Rochester, NY and Knoxville, TN), the store is physically much bigger than your typical DICK’S Sporting Goods store. It is a large 2-story design (over 100,000 square feet!) with a tall rock climbing wall at the back of the second level that is easily apparent upon entering the storefront. The upstairs of the store is huge, with loads of apparel and a massive wall of footwear, the largest of any DICK’S store (with more than 2,400 customer choices). Downstairs is massive as well, which includes the newly implemented House of Cleats, and the golf center. The downstairs of the store will also lead to a 20,000 square-feet outdoor sports field once completed this fall.

THE COMMUNITY

House of Sport is designed with the community in mind. For example, the business invites local teams to come in and participate in various clinics, such as track and field or hockey. There are fitness and activity classes to sign up for as well like informational sessions and consultations with local wellness experts, and early morning yoga sessions (4 classes coming up in June, see schedule and register here!).

DICK’S also has started partnering with local brands to sell in store. The most recent addition is Honour Coffee and Juice. Throughout the facility, it’s obvious they care about being involved in the community. From the local brands all the way down to the wall graphics of local sports teams and top hiking destinations (shoutout to Oberg Mountain over by the rock climbing wall), you can feel how connected it is to Minnesota.

THE EXPERIENCES

Speaking of the rock climbing wall, it is a whopping 35 feet tall of fun! We were able to do some climbing during our visit and it definitely has our stamp of approval! Most of the routes (different paths that lead to the top of the wall) are swayed more towards beginner-level climbing, which makes it a great wall to try out if you’ve wanted to be introduced to the sport, but other routes have the size and features to give even experienced climbers a challenge. To top off our climb, the staff who helped us, Marty, was so awesome and friendly. You can make reservations to climb either online or in store.

Throughout the store there are specialized areas you would expect from a sporting goods store such as outdoor gear, equipment for every sport you can imagine, and apparel. The thing, however, we found that set House of Sport apart from other stores we’ve been in is the sheer number of experiential areas that have been incorporated into every area in the store. You can’t go far before being intrigued by the next experience opportunity.

Co Lab

Another great rotating space is Co Lab! Co Lab is a Pop up store style collaboration space. It currently features Hoka, as a 5k will be hosted in July at this House of Sport location in partnership with the brand!

House of Cleats

As you walk down the stairs, you’ll find a new area called House of Cleats. In this area you can try on hundreds of cleats to make sure they fit and feel the way they should. Trying on a pair of cleats is no longer the same experience it used to be when you try them on here – from the loud cheering and game sounds coming from above to the detailed real turf and bleachers, it’ll feel like you’re prepping to go out on the field.

House of Skates

But the excitement doesn’t stop at cleats. You’ll have a similar experience trying on hockey skates in the House of Skates. This is the first and only DICK’s specialty hockey shop and onsite ambassador. You also can’t miss the display of hockey goalie helmets painted with Minnesota themes by local Minnesota artists.

TrackMan Simulators

Another fun in-store feature Eric got to try out was in the golf center. House of Sport has an expansive golf section that includes a huge selection of all the biggest golf brands in apparel and equipment. It also has three TrackMan golf simulator bays. Eric tested out his swing while the on-staff PGA pro used the simulation equipment to track metrics such as face angle, ball trajectory, stance, and follow-through. The technology available at the TrackMan simulators can even track your body and club using the same motion capture technology used to film Hollywood movies (yes, you even get to wear the brightly colored sensors all over your body!). These hitting bays are rentable either online or in store, whether you just want to practice some drives or want to sign up for a clinic with a pro, it was definitely a fun and unique experience.

HitTrax for Diamond Sports

In the diamond sports area, you’ll find a huge selection of bats and gloves for all levels of experience for both baseball and softball. If you’re testing out a bat, utilize HitTrax! HitTrax allows you to choose what stadium you’d like to test at, then you can test your swing with your new baseball or softball bat and practice your swing on a tee, or, even better, this location also has the option to pitch the ball to you.

The Field

The Field will be a great addition to the store once completed in Fall of 2022. It will be a year-round sports facility, including a turf field made from ocean plastics and an Olympic grade running track. This space will be used for events and programming (i.e. baseball/softball training, yoga classes, fitness boot camps, youth soccer clinics, community gatherings). In the winter, since the Field is open air, it will be converted to a large ice skating rink. There will be a professional sound system, lighting, fencing, scoreboard, and the ability to divide into two distinct playing areas.

Footwear Deck

In the upstairs Footwear Deck, there is another unique feature in this space (which, did I mention, alone is 7,000 square feet?) where you can request your size by simply scanning a shoe and a ‘team member’ will promptly bring them out for you! When testing out, for example, running shoes, go for a test run on specialized treadmills that track your gait and whether the shoes fit correctly for running. The amount of footwear selection is staggering, over 2,400 choices, and DICK’S has all the top running brands like Brooks, Nike, Adidas, and Hoka as well as a dedicated basketball section for Jordan brand.

THE CLOTHING

Actually, let’s talk about the mannequins first. There are ~750 mannequins throughout the store that represent all body shapes, sizes, and abilities. It was a breath of fresh air to learn that all types of people are represented.

And while there are many clothing brand sections throughout the store, DICK’S House of Sport has three brands that stand out as their own.

The first is Calia. Calia is an exclusive brand to DICK’s and has a great variety of apparel for all fitness types and and lifestyles. It’s a women’s private label brand that includes swimwear, golf, and a maternity section. As someone who loves golf apparel, Elissa was excited to learn that this House of Sport listened to consumer feedback and has created the largest selection of women’s golf apparel.

The second brand is VRST. VRST is also a private label brand only found at DICK’S and has a great and versatile selection of workout and casual apparel just for men.

The last is DSG. This brand is made for the entire family, and is noticeably an inclusive and affordable brand for the whole family. Something we really admire about DSG is that 1% of every purchase of this brand goes to the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation for youth sports.

You can also find sections dedicated to other large brands like Carhartt, Nike, Columbia, Cotopaxi, and more.

There’s even an experience to be had if you’re trying on clothes! The employees here are so helpful and nice, they are available for anything you may need. To try on clothes, visit one of their social fitting rooms and add your name to the fitting room door. Soon after, someone will stop by to begin assisting you with sizing, getting you new styles, and giving suggestions.

THE END

In our opinion, DICK’S House of Sport is putting an end to the traditional, boring shopping experience. To shop here is an adventure and an experience not to be missed. See you at the Grand Opening!

In January 2019, my sister and I spent 48 hours in Iceland on our way home to Minnesota, USA from an extended stopover from Oslo, Norway. Before heading out on this trip, I booked the Flybus to and from the hotel we stayed at, which was the Icelandair Hotel Marina.

The Flybus is a convenient idea because it’s a simple way to get from Keflavík International Airport to Reykjavik city without having to utilize a taxi, ride share service, or find your own way. Their marketing mentions it’s only a 45 minute bus ride from Keflavík International Airport to the city of Reykjavik, which makes it an attractive mode of transportation. While this is true to get into the city, it actually took about two hours for us to get to our hotel.

NOTE: This post is to ensure you are informed of how the current process of using this service works, so as to avoid any surprises or inconveniences that my sister and I encountered on our trip.

The ride is, yes, actually (technically) 45 minutes from the airport to the main bus station for Reykjavik Excursions, who partners with Flybus. From the main bus station, you are then given a color-coded card and asked to walk to the parking lot on the other side of the building (not a far walk at all) and find your respective bus. Unfortunately for us, we were given the incorrect color card, which brought us on a more “scenic route,” if you will.

For preparedness reasons, here are 10 steps for how to go about being transported from KEF to your hotel, and information I wish I had prior to our trip:

Arrive at KEF and follow signs to “Exit to Iceland”
1. You may need to declare items in customs prior to exiting this portion of the airport
2. If you don’t know if you need to declare your items, it never hurts to ask 🙂
Once through customs, follow signs to Flybus/busses
With your email confirmation (either electronic or printed), head to the Flybus/Reykjavik Excursions counter. NOTE: There are two Flybus/Reykjavik Excursions desks—one is more dedicated to the Blue Lagoon; feel free to use this desk if you want to go to the Blue Lagoon before heading into Reykjavik.
1. Once at the counter, the agent will scan your electronic/printed email confirmation and give you a color card to use once you get to the Reykjavik Excursions/Flybus main bus station.
Head to any of the Flybus busses just outside the doors of the desk, and proceed to give your larger/carryon size luggage to the handler, who will put your luggage under the bus.
Hop onto the bus and find a seat. The bus driver will look at your email confirmation here as well.
When the bus is completely full (meaning, every seat is taken), you will set off on your 45 minute journey to the beautiful city of Reykjavik. Next stop: the main bus station.
You arrive at the Reykjavik Excursions/Flybus main bus station: exit the bus, grab your luggage and meet inside the station.
Go to the counter with your email confirmation (again, either electronic or printed is okay), receive your physical ticket, and proceed to the other side of the bus station and hop on the transfer bus with the matching color to the color card you were given at KEF (note: these busses are smaller).
Double-check with the bus driver that you are on the correct bus as it could be possible that you were given the incorrect color card (this happened to us and added time to our transfer).
Hang out on the transfer bus until you reach your destination. Transfer busses take around 15-45 minutes to drop everyone off. This timeframe changes depending on how many people are on the bus/how many people are at different hotels or hostels.

While this transfer and extra time wasn’t a massive problem, it was pretty inconvenient to NOT have been made aware of this prior to arrival. Which is why I’m bringing it up to you! Had we known it was going to be two hours from pick up to drop off, we would have planned to eat a meal before leaving the airport or pack snacks (we finished our other snacks already on the plane), but since we thought it would only be a 45 minute bus ride, we were definitely not as prepared. Please also note that the coach busses (either before your transfer busses or after, depending on if you’re heading to or from the airport), for understandable reasons, wait to leave until they are completely full. This would have been helpful to know for planning and timing purposes as well.

Overall, the service itself is so awesome, as there are few other options to get to Reykjavik from KEF. It was nice to be able to book online and reserve our seats prior to arriving. My biggest and really only issue with Flybus was the lack of explanation of process: making it sound like you get brought directly from KEF to your accommodations, which, yes, is the 45 minute ride. However, they fail to point out that the 45 minute ride starts after a long wait to get the bus filled up, and then you’re brought to a bus hub, where you then wait, get reassigned to a new bus, and then ride with a bunch of new people to maybe be dropped of first out of the group, last out of the group, or somewhere in the middle–all which takes an extensive amount of extra time. Transparency was key here, and was just missed by the company. Otherwise, I would highly rate this company and its service.

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Are you ready for the DICK’S House of Sport experience?