Sport Chalet is an online-only sporting goods chain that at one point, had 47 stores in Southern & Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.[1] Most stores were over 35000 sqft in size, with many including dive pools and offering SCUBA classes. Sport Chalet stores usually featured large apparel and footwear departments complemented by an array of specialized departments and sections. On April 16, 2016, the company announced that it would close all stores in the coming months and that all online sales had already stopped.[2][3] The last stores closed in June 2016.[4]
History
Sport Chalet was founded on April 1, 1959 by newlyweds Norbert Olberz, a former baker, and his wife Irene, who bought a ski and tennis shop in La Cañada Flintridge, California, for $4000, equaling a $2500 check plus a negotiation, from Milo Svoboda, the original owner, whose store had only been open four months.[5]