This weekend I had the pleasure of celebrating 30 years of business with City Sports by attending the grand opening of their new store in Chestnut Hill. While the official housewarming to the public started at 10am, I was invited to a private media event at 9 where CEO Eddie Albertian provided the inside scoop on some of his plans for the next year, I was taken on a tour of the new store, and I also got to meet fellow Boston bloggers Alaina, Alana, and Elizabeth!
I had been to the old location before, and I was pleasantly surprised with this new layout. The store looked completely different, and at over 9,200 square feet it felt a lot bigger too. The high ceilings, organized displays, and airy feel did the trick at giving City Sports a new and improved look.
Some of my main takeaways and highlights include:
–An updated wall of shoes with over 300 styles to choose from, along with a treadmill and track where people can get their gait analysis done and test out their sneakers before purchasing…
–An updated women’s pants collection to best fit any body type or style preference…
–A comprehensive sports bra wall, which I learned is one of the largest sports bra collections in retail out there…
— And my personal favorite new addition, a dedicated space for women’s extended sizes. I love this concept, because women of all shapes and sizes should feel that they can work out in style if they want to!
After the tour I spent some time browsing through some of the other clothes and apparel. I contemplated buying a kettlebell and a grid foam roller, but I didn’t end up getting either one. Note – I am still thinking about both!
After browsing for a bit, I spoke with a Nike representative about the make of their latest sneaker styles and tried on a few different pairs. As you F&F readers know, I’ve been on the hunt to find a good pair of cross trainers, and I’ve already given up on the New Balance pair I bought two weeks ago.
Between the $10 gift card included in my swag bag and my 10% instructor/personal trainer discount, I ended up buying a pair of Asics Gel Blur 33TR for only $65. Sorry Nike and New Balance, but you should be more accommodating with wider toe boxes for people like me! I trialed the new Asics kicks while teaching class yesterday, and so far, so good! Plus, I own a ton of purple workout tops, so matching shouldn’t be an issue.
After buying my sneakers, I enjoyed some Pinkberry Greek frozen yogurt (yesssss) before the doors opened to the public. Shopping makes you hungry, right!?
Right before the crowd came in, all the City Sports folks gathered in for a slow clap and a team “Gooooo City Sports!” before the DJ started pumping some jams and over 250 people rushed in from outside.
Even though there were a ton of people in the store at this point, City Sports did a great job at crowd control. The first 100 customers through the door received a gift bag, and one lucky person won a pair of free sneakers a month for an entire year – so jealous! A bunch of people lined up to meet Matt Light, but he wasn’t arriving until later so I didn’t wait around even though I intended to get his autograph for my dad. Finally, several people did a “5k fun run” but I did not take part. I snapped some pictures of the runners on my drive home though. I’m such a creep.
Finally, when I got home I immediately dumped out my gift bag to check out the goods inside. So pumped about all my swag!
I had a great time at this event and am so grateful for the invite. Thank you, City Sports! What a great little Saturday morning.
Have you shopped at City Sports before? Where do you typically shop for your sports and athletic gear?
Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this post, but I was provided free products and apparel for attending this event. All opinions are my own. The new City Sports at Chestnut Hill is located at 55 Boylston Street on Route 9 West.