Academy Sports + Outdoors has announced it will open its new Fort Walton Beach store in May 2025, marking the retailer’s 20th location in Florida.
- The store is located at 546 Mary Esther Cut Off NW in the building that previously housed Walmart and was later occupied by ResortQuest/Vacasa. Liza Jackson Preparatory School also formerly utilized part of the space before relocating.
According to a press release issued Monday, the new location will span more than 65,000 square feet and is expected to create approximately 60 new jobs in the community.
Construction work is currently underway following permits issued by the city last August. An alteration build out permit was issued on Aug. 22, 2024, with the value of the permitted work at $4,300,000. A parking lot permit was issued on Aug. 19, 2024, for resurfacing and restriping, valued at $75,000.
The renovation project includes a complete buildout of the existing structure, resurfacing and restriping of the western parking lot, and expansion of the eastern parking lot and truck docking area. The total project area encompasses approximately 131,241 square feet or 3.0 acres.
The store will offer sports and outdoor merchandise from brands including Nike, adidas, Carhartt, Stanley, Titleist, Shimano, Brooks and YETI, along with the retailer’s private label brands such as Magellan Outdoors and BCG.
This will be the first Academy Sports + Outdoors location in the Fort Walton Beach area. Customers can sign up for the retailer’s rewards program or text FTWALTON to 22369 for information about grand opening deals and events.
