Rally House will take over Rite Aid\u2019s old storefront on Forbes Avenue, causing frustration from some Pitt students who hoped for other types of establishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rally House<\/a>, a chain store that sells sports merchandise, will take over the empty storefront at 3700 Forbes Ave. The location\u2019s previous tenant Rite Aid shut down<\/a> after the company filed for bankruptcy in May.<\/a><\/p>\n The new store will become the 11th Rally House within 5 miles of Pittsburgh<\/a>. It will be the second location in Oakland, with another Rally House located inside the Petersen Events Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shawn Fertitta, executive director of the Oakland Business Improvement District<\/a>, said the organization is excited to welcome Rally House to Oakland and see it blend with the \u201cvibrant\u201d restaurant scene<\/a> in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding more retail helps create a more balanced commercial district. Pittsburgh is a city full of pride, and Oakland sits at the heart of many of the institutions and traditions that fuel that spirit,\u201d Fertitta said. \u201cHaving a store like Rally House that celebrates our city, our universities and our sports teams will be a strong addition to the district.\u201d<\/p>\n Some students on Pitt\u2019s campus aren\u2019t feeling the same welcoming spirit. Julius Praefcke, a junior emergency medicine major, said the new store \u201cfeels pointless\u201d because universities like Pitt already sell merchandise themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the worst possible thing they could have put there. We go to a university, so we [already] have university stores around here,\u201d Praefcke said. \u201cIf you really want a jersey that bad, just go buy one [at a Pitt store] or order one. We really don\u2019t need a Rally House here.\u201d<\/p>\n Rally House did not respond to a request for comment.\n<\/p>\n Many students said they would have preferred another type of store open in the empty space. Delaney Butzine, a senior rehab science major, said that while she isn\u2019t upset about the Rally House, she would have liked a more practical option, like a grocery store or a new convenience store.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish they were putting something else in, because we already have places to shop for Pitt merch,\u201d Butzine said. \u201cI miss having the Rite Aid there because the only other convenience store that is close is CVS, and that\u2019s close to where I live, but it\u2019s not for a lot of other people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Simona Matiyevsky, a junior emergency medicine major, said she would have liked something other than a Rally House in the empty storefront.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like there\u2019s probably other things that would benefit the people living here,\u201d Matiyevsky said. \u201cLiterally anything else \u2014 we don\u2019t need another sports store.\u201d<\/p>\n With an existing Rally House store up the street in the Pete, some students are questioning the need for two locations so close in proximity. Matiyevsky said she doesn\u2019t see the point in adding another sportswear store when Oakland already has a Rally House, the University Store on Fifth<\/a> and the Pitt Shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really think it\u2019s smart to have another one right there,\u201d Matiyevsky said. \u201cThere are already two [similar] stores on Forbes.\u201d<\/p>\n Josie Lauro, a first-year nursing major who did not yet attend Pitt when the Rite Aid was open, said she doesn\u2019t have strong feelings about the new Rally House.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really care that much about [the Rally House],\u201d Lauro said. \u201cI probably won\u2019t go there because I feel like it\u2019s not needed because there\u2019s already things like that around campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Some students say prices at Rally House are too high for them. Butzine said she has never shopped at Rally House due to the prices.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve looked at the stuff [in the Rally House in the Pete], and it is very expensive,\u201d Butzine said. \u201cIt\u2019s cute, it\u2019s just not in my budget, so I\u2019ve never bought anything there.\u201d<\/p>\n Praefcke said that while he has shopped at Rally Houses before, he is not planning on going to the new one, also believing the store is overpriced.<\/p>\n \u201cRally House is way too expensive for things that I can get online for way cheaper,\u201d Praefcke said. \u201cIf it was a local store, I\u2019d support it because it\u2019s a local store, but it\u2019s a chain, so there\u2019s no point in not ordering online because you\u2019re just supporting one big business.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Spowart, a senior actuarial mathematics major, said the price point of Rally House has held him back from purchasing merchandise there.<\/p>\n