MERIDIAN, Idaho — Hundreds of new jobs are coming to the Treasure Valley as sporting goods retailer Scheels is just six months away from opening the doors to its 250,000 square-foot store in the Ten Mile Crossing area of Meridian.
The store is slated to open April 6, 2024. On Friday, several local businesses and city officials celebrated it being closer to completion.
There was a high school band to get the crowd pumped for the festivities, after people sat down to hear company leadership talk about the construction milestones and the recruitment progress.
Store leader Tyler Halm said the Meridian store will be Scheels' second largest in the whole company.
When KTVB asked Halm why Scheels chose Meridian to call home, he said it was the community:
“Scheels is unique in the fact that we really want to ingrain ourselves in that community, we want to support the community that supports us, and we do it like no other,” Halm said. “So, you're going to see events, you're going to see donation efforts, you're going to see us get involved in this community and really be part of the Treasure Valley."
Meridian Mayor Robert Simison said the city hasn’t always been known for being a metropolitan area.
"If you just go back 10 years ago, there wasn't even an interchange here at this location,” Simison said.
According to the President and CEO of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce, Sean Evans, the Scheels is going to be the single largest retail store in the state of Idaho.
Expanding the Ten Mile Crossing area was part of a plan that was set over 20 years ago.
“We developed the Ten Mile area specific plan, which really outlined how we want to see this area grow and development," Simison said.
With the new store comes more jobs, and Halm said there are hundreds of openings.
"So, once we open the doors, we're going to actually have over 500 associates working here – almost entirely pulled from the Treasure Valley," Halm said.
At the end of Friday's celebration, Scheels gave out two $10,000 checks to give back to the community – one to Wishes for Warriors, a local veteran’s organization, and another to St. Luke’s.
If you are wanting to get a job at Scheels, you can visit their website for information on jobs fairs.
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