Sports retailer adds location in Vornado’s transformed Penn District

Key Takeaways

• Lids has signed a new 10-year lease for 1,933 square feet of ground-floor retail space at Penn Station.
• The new store places Lids at one of New York’s busiest transportation hubs, adjacent to Madison Square Garden and amid the continued transformation of the Penn District.
• JLL, working alongside RCS Real Estate Advisors, represented the retailer as it continues to expand its physical store footprint.

NEW YORK, October 14, 2026 – It was announced today that a new 1,933-square-foot retail lease for Lids at Penn Station has been arranged, expanding the sports retailer’s presence in New York City with a high-visibility location at one of the nation’s busiest transportation hubs.

Lids signed a 10-year lease for the ground-floor space with landlord Vornado Realty Trust. Lids is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, with more than 1,300 stores. The Indianapolis-based company specializes in officially licensed and branded headwear and apparel from professional and collegiate sports teams and carries brands including New Era, Nike, Mitchell & Ness, and Champion. Lids is also known for its in-store customization and embroidery capabilities.

Penn Station sits at the center of Vornado’s broader transformation of the Penn District, which has included significant investments in office, public space, transportation infrastructure and retail. Vornado has developed approximately 1.1 million square feet of new retail throughout the district, including the redeveloped Long Island Rail Road concourse, Penn Station’s main underground passageway, which is lined with a mix of national and local retailers and dining concepts.

The location also places Lids adjacent to Madison Square Garden and within a district that brings together Penn Station, Moynihan Train Hall, major office properties and an expanding collection of retail, dining and entertainment destinations.

RCS Real Estate Advisors, led by Partner Spence Mehl, worked alongside JLL as the tenant’s national real estate portfolio advisor. Vornado was represented in-house.

“Penn Station is an exceptional fit for Lids because it puts the brand directly in front of an enormous and diverse audience of New Yorkers, commuters, sports fans and visitors every day,” said Wolff, an Executive Vice President with JLL. “With Madison Square Garden steps away and more than 600,000 people moving through Penn Station daily, this location gives Lids tremendous visibility while putting its products exactly where its customers already are.”

The Penn Station lease comes amid continued expansion by Lids, which operates through more than 2,000 retail locations across North America, Europe and Australia. The retailer has continued to invest in its physical footprint, including a recently announced partnership that will bring dedicated Lids shops to more than 100 DICK’S Sporting Goods stores nationwide.

The lease comes as competition for prime New York retail locations remains strong. According to JLL’s 2026 Prime Urban Retail research, apparel and accessories account for 62% of new store openings across the prime urban corridors studied, while New York, Los Angeles and Miami together account for more than 60% of notable retail expansion. JLL also found that retailers are increasingly viewing location as an extension of their brand, placing greater emphasis on highly visible destinations that provide both customer access and brand exposure.

For more news, click here to review the Commercial Observer article.

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