Academy Sports + Outdoors Celebrates Ribbon Cutting at New Tennessee Distribution Facility

Academy Sports + Outdoors celebrated the grand opening of its brand new distribution facility in Cookeville, Tenn. on Tuesday, April 26.  Situated on over 257 acres and spanning more than 1.6 million s.f., the facility is one of the largest distribution buildings in Tennessee under one roof. It is Academy Sports + Outdoors’ third distribution center and is expected to bring approximately 700 new jobs to the area over a five year period.

The facility was designed and built by Gray Construction and features a warehouse, office, cafeteria and computer room. The warehouse includes 21,585 s.f. of ASRS area. The Cookeville distribution center is planned to support Academy Sports + Outdoors’ Midwest network of stores, as well as its growing e-commerce business.

Gray has completed several projects for Academy Sports + Outdoors including a 1.8 million s.f. distribution center in Jeffersonville, Ga. and two 75,686 s.f. retail stores in Alabama.

The grand opening celebration featured a ribbon cutting ceremony as well as a meet-and-greet with Academy Sports + Outdoors’ leadership team, and select state and local officials. A private tour of the facility was also given, offering attendees a first-hand glimpse inside of the building. City of Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton, Governor Bill Haslam and Academy President & CEO J.K. Symancyk spoke at the event.

“We are very happy with the outcome of this project, and are delighted to share this special occasion with our friends at Academy,” said Steve Summers, executive vice president of Gray’s distribution market.                                                                                                                         .

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, patio sets, barbecue grills and much more. The $4 billion company operates 200 stores throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, where the company is based.

About Gray

Gray is a nationally ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with over 55 years of experience in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, distribution, hospitality and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are underway or recently completed including: a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Vance, Ala.; a specialty pet food kitchen and distribution center for Champion Petfoods in Auburn, Ky. ; a fresh pork processing facility in Coldwater, Michigan for Clemens Food Group; a Keurig manufacturing facility in Douglasville, Ga.; a utility vehicle manufacturing facility for Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation in Gainesville, Ga.; an expansion to Wrigley’s Yorkville, Ill. campus; and a manufacturing facility for Weber Metals in Paramount, Calif.

If you have distribution center plant construction needs, please contact Steve Summers, executive vice president, at ssummers@gray.com. Or, contact Jeff Bischoff, executive vice president, business development at jbischoff@gray.com.