Workers are busy on the western edge of the city laying down flooring and putting up wallboards for a new Big 5 Sporting Goods store that is scheduled to open later this month.

At 1600 W. Campbell Ave., the store will be located in the Kirkwood Plaza Shopping Center, at the corner of Campbell Avenue. and San Tomas Aquino Road. It will occupy the space left vacant by Avery's, a longtime popular home-decor retailer that went out of business in June due to financial insolvency.

A spokesman for the sporting goods retailer said Campbell seemed to be an ideal place to locate a new store.

"We've had a record of great success in the South Bay," said Rick Gridley, director of public relations at Big 5 Sporting Goods. "It's a growing and energetic area, and we think a Campbell store will be well supported."

John Kirkorian of Kirkorian Development, which owns and manages the center, said the addition of a large retailer like Big 5 will only add to the mix of regional and local tenants already in Kirkwood Plaza. It should also add to the health and vibrancy of what already is one of Campbell's busiest shopping centers.

Big 5 is one of largest sporting goods chains in the Western United States.

It sports almost 300 stores in 10 states, from California to Texas to Oregon, and has opened an average of 16 stores a year for the last five years, Gridley said. The chain is planning to expand by another 15 to 20 stores a year over the next five years

He said the 49-year-old company has never had to close due to bad business, "so you can bet we'll be around for a long time."

The new store will be approximately 11,000 square feet and it will carry a product line that includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories. It will also carry athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding and in-line skating.

The Campbell Big 5 opens on Sept. 25, with plans to have a grand opening sale on Oct. 3. The store hours will be Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store will be the 11th Big 5 in the South Bay and peninsula. The closest Big 5 to Campbell is now located near the intersection of Stevens Creek and Winchester boulevards.