FRAMINGHAM — Public Lands, an outdoors-based retailer owned and operated by Dick's Sporting Goods, will open its new Shoppers World store on Oct. 6, with a grand opening to follow a week and a half later.

The company announced its plans on its store website.

The retailer is occupying space that formerly housed Bob's Stores in Shoppers World, 1 Worcester Road (Route 9). The store will be only the fourth Public Lands store in the world, and the first in New England. Its other locations are near Pittsburgh, near Columbus, Ohio, and in Charlottesville, Virginia.

More: Public Lands to open first New England store in Framingham

A fifth store is planned for Huntington, New York, on Long Island, according to the company's website.

The Oct. 6 Framingham opening is part of what Public Lands is calling a "preview" of the store, and will function as a soft launch. A grand opening is planned for Oct. 15-16, at which time the store will host games and events, including giveaways, demonstrations and swag from brands such as The North Face, Yeti and Hydroflask, live music and food and beer from local restaurants and breweries.

Dick's created the brand of specialty stores in 2013, originally naming them Field and Stream. But in 2021, Dick's said it would rebrand them as Public Lands, with the flagship store in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, becoming the first to do so.

Public Lands describes itself as “a new outdoor-focused specialty concept store that will focus on helping more people get outside to explore and protect America's public lands."

It will carry a "premium assortment of outdoor and lifestyle apparel, footwear, and equipment brands, and support the local outdoor community through conservation and access & equity-based initiatives,” according to the store website.

According to its website, 1% of all Public Lands sales are donated to local and national conservation efforts. The Pennsylvania location has extra amenities, including a 30-foot-high rock wall for climbing and in-store repair center; it has not been confirmed whether the Framingham location will contain similar amenities.

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Public Lands is among a few outdoor retailers that have opened in MetroWest in recent years. Hunting, fishing and camping store Cabela’s opened at the Shops at Highland Commons in Hudson in 2015, and Maine's L.L. Bean announced plans in April to open a store later this year at the same shopping center.

Sierra (formerly Sierra Trading Post), which sells discount outdoor gear, apparel, footwear and accessories and is part of Framingham-based TJX Companies, operates a store just three doors away from Public Lands at Shoppers World.

Other nearby, longtime outdoor retailers include an REI store on Cochituate Road (Route 30) and Public Lands' corporate parent, Dick's, which sells sporting goods and some outdoor apparel and equipment, has a store just across Route 9 in Natick's Sherwood Plaza. In downtown Natick, the Natick Outdoor Store is longtime favorite of local shoppers and in Marlborough, Eastern Mountain Sports has a store near the Solomon Pond Mall on Donald Lynch Boulevard.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham Public Lands store sets opening date for Oct. 6