Whitefish Sportsman store gets new look
<p>A Bobcat tractor moves dirt Monday afternoon during exterior reconstruction at the Sportsman & Ski Haus store in Whitefish.</p>
Sportsman & Ski Haus in Whitefish recently began a complete exterior overhaul of its facility, the first major improvement at the store since Sportsman moved into the south end of the Whitefish Mountain Mall.
“The facility is old and tired,” Sportsman president Dave Harvey said. “From seeing the exterior, customers are often surprised by how beautiful it is inside and by our great stuff.
“A lot of our motivation is improving our curb appeal so that people who don’t know how great we are inside will give us a chance to prove it.”
The exterior, with its new roofline and clear vestibule entrance providing a light-filled welcome for customers, was designed by CTA Kalispell to tie in architecturally with the Kalispell Sportsman store.
The current Whitefish store has three separate entrances, which can be confusing, Harvey said.
New sidewalks and landscaping also will be part of the overhaul. The interior will not be expanded, but will be dramatically changed with a new central checkout area with service desk for special orders and layaways, a total flooring replacement and merchandising changes with new and updated fixtures.
The first step, started by contractor Swank Enterprises a few weeks ago, was to tear off the existing facade and start the new foundation. Harvey said the company was told to expect a three-month construction time, so the building should be finished some time in October.
“This is really going to be pretty,” Harvey said.
Harvey estimates that the company is spending about $750,000 on the project.
The Whitefish location is heavily dependent on the tourist business, so the makeover should lure more tourists, Harvey said.
“We’re very excited about the Sportsman remodel,” Mountain Mall General Manager Tom Kraus said. “This is the start of better things to come for Mountain Mall.”
The expansion of the Kalispell Sportsman store to 80,000 square feet, announced in August 2012, still is in the works.
“Sportsman is working diligently to move plans forward on the expansion of the Kalispell store, but an official construction date has yet to be determined,” Harvey said.
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.