Field & Stream opens Patton Creek store
The 50,000 square foot Field & Stream store in Patton Creek shopping center is open.
The store held a soft opening on Sunday, Aug. 2 for associates and their families, and the store started welcoming customers on Monday.
“It’s exciting to get to open a store and be a part of that, to see people experience that for the first time – that’s my favorite part,” said Field & Stream brand activation manager Chase McClain. “A lot of times I’ll just stand back here and just watch the 5 and the 6 years old kids come in, and the wow factor of the grizzly bear.”
The Patton Creek Field & Stream is the second in the state. The first Alabama Field & Stream opened in Montgomery two weeks ago. To celebrate its grand opening, Field & Stream is holding events on Thursday, Aug. 6 and throughout the weekend.
One event for the weekend is a “locked and loaded” prize safe. Visitors will stand in line to receive combinations, and the winner will get a prize from the safe – including items from Remington, Field & Stream brand and Emotion. There will also be gift card, hat and T-shirt giveaways to the first 250 guests in line throughout the weekend.
Guest appearances will also occur throughout the weekend. Travis Tomasie, team captain of Remington handguns, will be signing autographs at the store Thursday from 3-7 p.m. and Friday from noon to 4 p.m. R.J. and Jay Paul Molinere from the Swamp People television show will be at the store Friday from 4-7 p.m. Wristbands are required for the signing, and they will be passed out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Melissa Bachman, host of “Winchester Deadly Passion” will be signing autographs on Saturday from 2-6 p.m. and from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Also on Sunday, NASCAR’s Bill and Chase Elliot will be signing autographs. Guest will also need wristbands to meet the Elliots, which will be passed out on a first-come, first-serve basis.
On Saturday, there will also be a hunt, cast and pitch youth challenge, which is open to kids from 6 to 15 years old. They will be working on skills in archery, casting and tent building, and a $100 gift card goes to the age division winners. Registration is from 11:30 a.m.- 3 p.m., and the event continues from noon to 3 p.m.
The grand opening events will be fun, McClain said, and also help bring the community to the store. The tagline of Field & Stream is “Where traditions begin,” which McClain said involves helping people connect with and through the outdoors.
“That’s the nice thing about the outdoors. So many people, myself included, have that kind of emotional tie to the outdoors through family, through traditions,” McClain said.
Field & Stream is also the second sportsman store in the shopping center, where there is also a Dick’s Sporting Goods. Although Field & Stream is owned by Dick’s Sporting Goods, the store will not duplicate products sold in the existing store. McClain said having the stores close by helps improve sales and benefits customers.
“By moving a Field & Stream into the same market as a Dick’s Sporting Goods, it really allows us to better serve the community with greater breadth and depth of products,” McClain said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods focuses on sporting goods for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. The Field & Stream focuses on outdoor equipment for hunting, fishing, archery and camping and offers services to help with that equipment, including gun cleaning, knife sharpening, line winding and other services.
“When you come to Field & Stream, you’ll see that we’ve built shops within shops,” McClain said.
These “shops within shops” include areas dedicated to bait and tackle, guns and ammo, paddling sports and others. In addition to outdoor equipment, the store includes a food processing section, which McClain said provides products for anything from meat grinding and processing to coolers for weekend picnics.
McClain said Field & Stream strictly hires outdoor enthusiasts who can provide advice from a personal and professional point of view. Focusing on these employees, McClain said, helps provide credibility to the store and make the shopping experience better for a range of customers.
“We focus really hard on providing local knowledge, local intelligence,” McClain said. “So our associates do really well with beginners up to experts.”
A large store full of outdoor equipment can be intimidating, McClain said, but associates are trained to help customers find the right equipment and figure out how to use it. The store also offers weekly events, including product tutorials and how-to clinics, to help customers. These will kick off at the new store in late August or early September.
The store is located at 3851 Chapel Lane, near the Rooms to Go. More information about the grand opening events can be found at fieldandstreamshop.com.