Dick's Sporting Goods Brings Boutique Pop-Up to East Hampton Village This Summer

A national chain is about to set up shop within walking distance of East Hampton Village's most established tennis retailer, and the arrival tells the local tennis community one thing plainly: this new neighbor is not a pro shop.

Dick's Sporting Goods will open a boutique pop-up at 34 Park Place on May 14, occupying a Diamond family-owned building a short walk from both Gubbins Perfect Fit and Set Point Tennis, the East Hampton fixture that has served players at this end of the Island since it was founded as Tennis East in 1974. The store is not being positioned as a tennis destination. It is built around three rotating "brand takeovers," each spotlighting a Dick's private-label line for a stretch of the summer. Walter Hagen, the chain's men's and women's golf apparel brand, anchors the opening month. Come June, CALIA, Dick's women's lifestyle apparel label co-developed with Carrie Underwood, takes over the floor. A DSG family apparel rotation follows for the back-to-school window.

For players arriving on the East End for peak summer season, the honest answer to "can I get my racquet strung there?" is no. The 34 Park Place location carries no stated plans for stringing, demo racquets, or the kind of specialist string and grip inventory that Set Point Tennis has built its reputation on over five decades at 47½ Main Street. Maxfli golf balls and Walter Hagen polos are the draw, not gut string or overgrip rolls.

What the pop-up does offer is convenience for a certain category of last-minute summer shopper: premium athletic apparel at national-chain price points, without a trip off the East End. The collaboration operates through the Leap Platform, a management company specializing in boutique retail pop-ups for modern brands, giving the 34 Park Place location a rotating, calendar-driven merchandising model that local businesses hope will leave room for complementary, rather than competing, offerings each month.

Village administrator Marcos Baladron struck that conciliatory note publicly, expressing hope that the chain and independent shops could succeed together and even collaborate around the store's rotating product themes. Mayor Jerry Larsen was more candid. "I'm not thrilled about it because of Gubbins," he said, while acknowledging the village's legal limitation: banning chain stores, he noted, would be discriminatory. East Hampton Village already shares its streets with Ralph Lauren, Lululemon, and Stop and Shop.

Geary Gubbins, whose family-owned Gubbins Perfect Fit has operated near the new Dick's location for generations, voiced his concerns privately but framed the broader dynamic with quiet confidence. "To still be here in this community, still doing what my parents did, I think it speaks to what makes this village great," he said. Aimee Watters, Dick's vice president of vertical brand marketing, offered the company's own take: "We are really excited to be popping up in the Hamptons this summer and look forward to engaging with the community through this store."

For the tennis community, the verdict turns on what you need. Walk into 34 Park Place for a CALIA set before a Saturday morning clinic and Dick's will likely deliver. Walk in needing a freshly strung racquet with a new grip and you will be heading around the corner to Set Point, same as always.