BELLINGHAM - A national retailer is about to expand its presence in town with a second store.

Big 5 Sporting Goods announced Friday, Aug. 31, that it has secured a spot in a retail center at 108 W. Stuart Road, near United Furniture and across the street from Walmart.

The new 11,200-square-foot store is scheduled to open Friday, Sept. 28, with a grand opening event scheduled for Sunday, Oct.7.

It will be the second Bellingham store for Big 5, which is also in Bellis Fair mall. The company views the Bellingham market as a good opportunity to expand, said Rick Gridley, public affairs director at Big 5. The store is popular with both the local community and Canadian shoppers.

"Our brand is very strong in Bellingham," Gridley said. "It's a vibrant community, and we think it can support both stores."

Gridley was unsure exactly how many employees will be hired for the new store, but a typical store has 14 to 20 full- and part-time positions.

The new store will fill a long-empty space in the Stuart Road retail center. Along with United Furniture, The Woods Coffee and Sherwin Williams are among the tenants in the center.

The new Bellingham store will be the 48th in Washington for Big 5, which is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif. It currently has 406 stores across 12 Western states. The stores have a variety of sports equipment, clothing and athletic shoes.

Once open, store hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Reach DAVE GALLAGHER at dave.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2269.