Touring SCHEELS Tulsa (Opening Oct. 19!)

There’s a good chance you’ve heard the news that Tulsa is getting a SCHEELS store at Woodland Hills Mall. The construction has been on-going for awhile, but good news – it’s nearing completing! The new store should open October 19 with a parking lot party – think giveaways, music and more. Follow @tulsascheels on Facebook for updates.

If you’re unfamiliar with SCHEELS, it is an athletic/outdoors store, primarily. Think camping gear, athletic equipment, clothing, guns, archery needs, bikes…you name it. But in addition to the merchandise, SCHEELS prides itself on being an experience. The Tulsa store will have an indoor Ferris wheel, rollerball alley and 16,000-gallon aquarium – to name just a few attractions. All that to say, we were excited to get to tour the new store recently!

Behind-the-Scenes

It’s difficult to get compelling photos of cardboard boxes (at least at my skill level). However, we got to walk through SCHEELS’ warehouse section, and it was impressive! So many shelves, I don’t know how they’ll keep everything organized. The tour guide said that what shoppers don’t realize is that, when they’re shopping for shoes, for example, and an employee is running to the back to look for the correct size – they have quite a distance to walk!  So they have to move quickly!

Here is just a portion of the back-end shoe merchandise. We had fun finding favorite brands – HOKA, Keen, Birkenstock, etc.

Another cool behind-the-scenes element we got to see was underneath the “Wildlife Mountain” – more on that later. But there’s a door leading inside the mountain. Here, you’ll find a changing area for divers, along with a trap door that leads to the giant aquarium. So when you visit SCHEELS Tulsa, keep an eye out for divers swimming among all the fish!

Attractions

Speaking of the wildlife mountain, here’s the promised additional information. It is located in the middle of the second floor and is covered in 200 mounts. The tour guide mentioned that school groups visiting the store may enjoy doing a scavenger hunt here, looking for different types of animals. But any kid visiting the store – and no doubt many adults – may enjoy that as well.

Very visible from Wildlife Mountain is the Ferris wheel, rising up from the first floor. It is 65 feet tall and has 16 cars. And guess what – it only costs $1 to ride! Are you in?

Parents of littles may be very excited by the children’s play area. It’s in its own separate room, so your toddler can’t escape the area without your knowledge. Great place to take a break in the middle of a long shopping trip.

SCHEELS Tulsa also has several arcade-style games, including this Route 66-themed shooting game. We also saw basketball and some others that weren’t set up yet. Our tour guide reiterated several times that each SCHEELS store is designed for the community that it’s in. So whereas the shooting game at a Minnesota store, for example, might be more woods-y themed, this one is specific to the Tulsa community.

The aforementioned aquarium was sadly covered up, so we didn’t get a good view. The fish have already moved in, so I’m sure they are protecting them from the stress of ongoing construction! But we did see some renderings, and this will be a very cool showstopper once the store is open.

And I tried my hand at rollerball. It was embarrassing, but again, nicely themed for us Tulsans on Route 66!

Dining

Apparently, people spend an average of 2-2.5 hours every SCHEELS visit. So there’s a good chance you’ll want to grab a bite or cup of coffee at some point during your visit. I can’t provide menu details, as I don’t know them, but I the SCHEELS Tulsa restaurant will have a full-service coffee bar and plenty of food options. One item we were told about is “caramel apples as big as your head.” Sounds good to me!

Shopping

Of course, much of the merch was not on the floor yet when we visited. However, we did see a fleet of employees starting to get everything out and ready. The shopping experience is designed to be personal – so there are not self-checkouts. As our tour guide (or other SCHEELS rep) said, “The point is to serve.” He said he personally hates seeing people standing in line at checkout, so the goal is for there to be no lines and for everything to run quickly and smoothly.

Here are some highlights of the shopping area. It covers two floors and is a HUGE space!

SCHEELS is a Trek dealer with a full-service bike shop.

In addition to sports shoes, you can find fashion options like ankle boots, etc.

The archery section has three archery lanes so you can test gear before purchasing.

Visit scheels.com for an overview of their product categories, brands, etc. Merchandise will be customized for Tulsa, depending on feedback/sales.

Opening Day

Again, SCHEELS Tulsa is scheduled to open October 19, 2024, with a parking lot party. There should be off-site parking available, so do follow them on social media to learn more. The store is located at Woodland Hills Mall – there is an entrance from SCHEELS into the mall, in addition to their own outdoor entrances.

And there are some more fun things to expect that I haven’t even mentioned yet! But let me know in the comments: What are you most excited to buy/do at the new SCHEELS Tulsa?