Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Tue, February 10, 2009 Weingarten Realty Announces Sports Authority Joins Ridgeway Trace Center as Co-Anchor
MEMPHIS, Tenn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Weingarten Realty (NYSE:WRI) announced today that The Sports Authority signed a 41,587 square foot lease as co-anchor to Ridgeway Trace Shopping Center. Sports Authority is one of the largest full-line retailers of sporting goods in the United States. The grand opening for The Sports Authority store is scheduled for spring 2010.
Conveniently located in one of the city's busiest retail corridors at SEC Popular Avenue and Interstate 240, Ridgeway Trace will serve the densely populated and affluent East Memphis and Germantown trade areas. The Sports Authority joins Best Buy and Target, the Ridgeway Trace anchor store, in addition to a number of other well-known tenants.
Brooke Harvey, Senior Leasing Director for Weingarten Realty, said, "We are excited that Ridgeway Trace is starting to fill up so soon after we started construction. Already several nationally recognized retailers have joined the center, and we are pleased to add The Sports Authority as an outstanding complement to our tenant mix. Ridgeway Trace's strategic location combined with popular stores like Sports Authority, Target and Best Buy will be a big draw for area consumers."
The Sports Authority at Ridgeway Trace will be the company's fourth store in the Memphis Metropolitan area.
About The Sports Authority, Inc.:
Based in Englewood, Colorado, The Sports Authority, Inc. opened its first store in November 1987 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1990, with approximately nine stores in six states, the company was acquired by Kmart. Five years later, The Sports Authority had expanded to 136 stores in 26 states, and was spun-off from parent Kmart. At the time of its merger with Gart Sports Company, The Sports Authority was the largest full-line sporting goods retailer in the United States, and had 205 stores in 33 states.The company went private on May 2, 2006 in a transaction led by Leonard Green & Partners, LP in conjunction with members of the company's management.For more information on The Sports Authority, go to [ www.sportsauthority.com ].
About Weingarten Realty Investors:
Incorporated in 1948, Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) is one of the largest and oldest real estate investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange.As a commercial real estate owner, manager and developer for more than 60 years, Weingarten remains focused on delivering solid returns to shareholders as the company actively develops, acquires, and intensively manages properties in 23 states that span the United States from coast-to-coast. The Company's portfolio of 407 properties includes 326 neighborhood and community shopping centers, 78 industrial properties and three other properties. Including tenant-owned square footage, the Company's portfolio currently totals more than 73 million square feet under management.Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its 5,300 tenants comprising less than 3 percent of its rental revenues. To learn more about the Company's operations and growth strategies, please visit [ http://www.weingarten.com ].
