RETAIL/TOURISM : Footwear Maker May Stride Into County With a Nike Town

A new kind of town may be coming to Orange County soon: Nike Town.

It is not just a store to showcase the newest shoes and sports togs from Nike. It is more of an experience, say those who have toured the premiere store in Portland, Ore.

More than a 1 million people have visited the first store, which was just named “1992 Store of the Year” by Money Magazine. So naturally, the footwear maker is looking to expand--and Orange County is a top candidate.

“We are reviewing different sites in Orange County for a Nike Town,” Nike spokeswoman Lisa DeNeffe said. “It’s really a matter of finding the best opportunity and the best location.”

Nike Town officials have been talking to leasing agents for the Triangle Square entertainment and retail development being built in Costa Mesa. A second Nike Town is being built in Chicago.

What makes these stores so special? Merchandise is displayed in a complete environment. Basketball shoes, for instance, are sold over the din of rubber squeaks on a wooden floor and sounds of a bouncing ball. Swimming gear is set up over a “sea” of video screens showing sharks swimming by.

It is the kind of store that Triangle Square wants to lure to make itself a shopping destination that people will visit frequently.

“We’re trying to produce something there that will be truly exceptional,” said Mark Burger, a partner in Pacific Development Partners in Beverly Hills, which is co-developing the project.