If you’ve driven past a closed Field & Stream store or heard the chain was shutting down, you’re not imagining it. But the full story is more specific than a simple “yes, they’re gone.” Whether you’re curious about a store in your area or trying to understand what actually happened to the brand, here’s a clear breakdown.
The Short Answer: The Retail Chain Was Shut Down
Dick’s Sporting Goods owned and operated the Field & Stream retail store chain. The company announced it was closing its last 17 Field & Stream locations. By the time that announcement made headlines, 12 of those stores had already shut their doors.
This wasn’t a bankruptcy situation or a sudden collapse. Dick’s made a deliberate decision to phase out the Field & Stream store format as part of a broader shift in strategy. The closures were planned, not forced.
So the direct answer is: yes, Field & Stream retail stores are effectively gone as a standalone chain. But what replaced them, and what happened to each location, is worth understanding if you want the full picture.
Why Dick’s Sporting Goods Decided to Close the Chain
Dick’s didn’t close Field & Stream because the company was struggling across the board. The decision came down to a change in retail strategy.
Dick’s shifted its focus toward what it calls experiential retail — stores designed to offer more than just shelves of products. The priority became its House of Sport concept, which features climbing walls, batting cages, golf simulators, glove steaming stations, and racquet stringing services. These locations are built to get customers physically engaged, not just browsing.
Field & Stream stores were a more traditional format. They didn’t fit the new direction, so the company chose to move resources toward the House of Sport model instead. Based on what’s been reported, the closure was about format strategy — not a single factor like declining interest in hunting or fishing.
What Replaced the Field & Stream Stores
The locations didn’t just go dark. Dick’s planned to convert the remaining Field & Stream stores into either House of Sport locations or large-format Dick’s Sporting Goods stores by 2024.
Some conversions had already started before the final closure announcement. Beginning in 2021, Dick’s began turning select Field & Stream locations into Public Lands stores — another outdoor-focused retail concept operating under the Dick’s corporate umbrella. Public Lands carries gear for hiking, camping, and similar activities.
That said, Public Lands wasn’t a universal replacement. Not every Field & Stream became a Public Lands store. The conversion path depended on the individual location. Some went to House of Sport, some to standard large-format Dick’s stores, and some to Public Lands.
Think of it this way: a company can retire one store brand while still selling the same product categories under a different name. That’s essentially what Dick’s did. The outdoor and sporting goods products didn’t disappear — the Field & Stream signage did.
Some Locations Were Sold to Another Retailer
Not every former Field & Stream location became a Dick’s-branded store. Sportsman’s Warehouse acquired 8 Field & Stream stores and rebranded them under its own name.
Sportsman’s Warehouse confirmed the acquisition through an investor release, which listed the states where those stores were located. So if a Field & Stream near you seemed to stay open or reopen under a different banner, there’s a reasonable chance it became a Sportsman’s Warehouse.
The practical takeaway here: if your local Field & Stream closed, the building isn’t necessarily sitting empty. It may now be a House of Sport, a standard Dick’s store, a Public Lands location, or a Sportsman’s Warehouse — depending on what deal or conversion plan applied to that specific site.
Field & Stream the Store vs. Field & Stream the Magazine
This is where a lot of confusion comes in. When people search “Is Field & Stream going out of business,” they might be thinking about two completely different things.
Field & Stream has existed as a hunting and fishing magazine brand for well over a century. It predates the Dick’s retail chain by a long stretch. Dick’s licensed the Field & Stream name to use on its stores — the two were always separate entities.
Closing the retail stores did not mean the Field & Stream name or media brand ceased to exist. The sources available here focus on the retail chain, so specific claims about the current state of the magazine are beyond what this article can confirm with certainty. But the key distinction is clear: the store chain and the media brand are not the same thing, and one shutting down doesn’t automatically mean the other did too.
If you’re trying to find the magazine or its digital content, that’s a separate search from anything related to Dick’s Sporting Goods retail locations.
What This Tells Us About How Retail Brands Actually Work
The Field & Stream retail story is a useful example of how large companies manage store formats over time. Dick’s didn’t fail — it made a deliberate choice to stop investing in one store concept and redirect that energy toward another.
This happens more often than most people realize. A parent company can own multiple store brands simultaneously, retire one, convert locations, sell some off to competitors, and keep the core business growing — all at the same time. From the outside, it looks like a chain “going out of business.” From the inside, it’s a strategic reallocation of real estate and resources.
For business owners and retail managers, there’s a practical lesson here. Store formats have a lifespan. What works in one decade may not fit the next. Dick’s recognized that its customers were responding to experiential formats, so it shifted accordingly rather than holding onto a concept that no longer fit the direction of the business.
For more coverage of business decisions like this one, Open Business Mag breaks down what’s actually happening behind major brand changes and retail moves.
So Is Field & Stream Gone for Good?
As a retail chain, yes — Field & Stream stores are no longer operating under that name. Dick’s deliberately closed or converted all of its Field & Stream locations. Some were turned into House of Sport or large-format Dick’s stores. Some became Public Lands locations. Eight were sold to and rebranded by Sportsman’s Warehouse.
The closures were staggered by location, not all happening on one date. So depending on where you live, the transition timeline may have looked different.
The Field & Stream name as a media and publishing brand is a separate story with a much longer history — one that isn’t tied to what Dick’s decided to do with its stores.
The bottom line: the Field & Stream retail chain is finished, but it didn’t go out in a blaze of bankruptcy. It was retired as part of a calculated business decision, with most locations finding a second life under a different format or a different owner.
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