Niketown takes flight quietly

Andrew Edwards

A collection of shirts bearing the words “Niketown Orange County”

were on display Sunday in a corner of the Costa Mesa store. Today,

the shirts look likely to become anachronisms.

Sunday was Niketown’s last day in Costa Mesa after the athletic

retailer had announced plans to shut down earlier in the month.

Company representatives said a scarcity of businesses at Triangle

Square motivated the move.

Triangle Square’s upper-level food court is virtually abandoned,

but Niketown’s departure leaves the most noticeable vacancy at the

mall. Niketown’s lofty dome greeted many visitors to Costa Mesa who

arrived to the city via the freeway.

“We’ll miss Niketown,” City Councilman Gary Monahan said. “It’s

been kind of a monument as you come off the [Costa Mesa Freeway].”

As of Friday, there was no word on what business will next occupy

Triangle Square’s most visible vertex. Triangle Square spokeswoman

Vanessa Showalter said the mall’s management was in negotiations to

find a new tenant but had not yet inked a deal.

The shopping center has struggled since its 1992 opening to retain

stores. In addition to its vacancies on the upper level, two

supermarkets built in Triangle Square’s basement have left. Planning

Commissioner Bill Perkins said he wants a turnaround at Triangle

Square, though he acknowledged the mall’s troubled track record.

“I just hope that management and the leasing department have big

plans for that location and the rest of the center, but I have my

doubts,” he said.

Nightspots like the Yard House and Sutra Lounge have been able to

lure crowds to Triangle Square, and mall managers want to recast the

mall’s image as a place for dining and entertainment, Showalter said.

Inside Niketown on Sunday, the gear that made Nike famous,

athletic shoes, sportswear and Michael Jordan-related clothing were

still on sale. Some of the items were marked down, but price cuts

were not drastic.

“They’re way overpriced; I can go to Chick’s Sporting Goods and

get it for $20 less,” customer John Steves of Laguna Niguel said

after he left the store empty-handed.

Price reductions included a green men’s tennis shirt marked down

from $50 to $30, and a red women’s vest on sale for $49.99, down from

$75.

“[The discounts] were OK,” shopper Nakisa Aschtiani, 24, of

Mission Viejo said. “I guess it depends on what you’re looking for.”

An effort to interview Niketown employees was referred to the

store’s manager, who said no one at the store was cleared to comment.

Nike Inc. has not announced any plans to open a new Niketown in

Orange County, leaving the company’s Wilshire Boulevard store the

nearest location for locals who frequented Niketown.

Rhonda Gioia, whose husband Tom said the couple were very loyal

Niketown customers, showed up on Sunday to stock up on gear before

the store’s closing.

“We’re wondering where we’re going to go,” Rhonda Gioia said.

“We’ll probably drive to Beverly Hills.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.