Tyler is getting a second Academy Sports + Outdoors, with the sporting-goods and outdoor-gear chain planning a new 55,000-square-foot store near the intersection of South Southwest Loop 323 and Earl Campbell Parkway, close to the existing Sam's Club on the city's west side. Local reporting from the Tyler Morning Telegraph, KLTV, and KETK put the project's cost at roughly $6 million, with construction expected to begin in early November 2026 and the store aiming to open by March 2027.
Tyler's current Academy location has served shoppers from South Broadway Avenue for years, drawing customers from across Smith County and neighboring East Texas communities for everything from hunting and fishing gear to team sports equipment and patio furniture. A second store on the west side reflects both the store's popularity and the broader growth pattern reshaping that part of the city, where new subdivisions, retail development, and the Loop 323 corridor have made west Tyler one of the fastest-changing areas in the region. For residents living on that side of town, the new store means a shorter drive for back-to-school sports gear, hunting season prep, or a last-minute camping trip — rather than crossing the city to reach the Broadway location.
The project also fits into a broader pattern of retail investment following residential growth in East Texas. As families continue to move into the Piney Woods region for its lower cost of living, strong sense of community, and proximity to both Dallas and Houston, retailers like Academy are betting that rooftops on the west side of Tyler will keep multiplying. A new store of this size — and the construction jobs and eventual retail positions that come with it — represents a vote of confidence in that growth continuing, even as national retailers elsewhere in the country have pulled back on new store openings amid a more cautious economic climate.
Academy Sports + Outdoors, headquartered in Katy, operates more than 300 stores across the South and Southeast and has continued to expand in Texas even as it has grown more selective nationally. The Tyler project is one of several new-store announcements the company has made in Texas markets this year, part of a strategy that has generally favored fast-growing suburban and exurban corridors over dense urban cores. For Tyler and Smith County, the announcement adds another data point to a summer that has already brought several new retail and restaurant expansions, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph's regular Business Beat roundup — a sign that, at least in this corner of East Texas, the local economy continues to draw investment even amid broader national uncertainty.
No specific hiring numbers had been announced as of this writing, and the March 2027 target opening remains subject to the usual construction timeline risks. We'll follow up on hiring details and a firm opening date as they're announced.