Visitors to Scheels sporting goods store in Sparks, Nev., watch an animatronic Thomas Jefferson talk about the Declaration of Independence. This 295,000-square-foot retail behemoth is more amusement park than sporting goods store -- with a talking president to boot. (Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times)
Rows of skateboards adorn a wall at Scheels, which opened in September. The store claims to be the world’s biggest sporting goods store. (Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times)
A seaplane hangs over the fishing section at Scheels, and a mountain of taxidermied animals rises in the distance. (Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times)
A 35-foot-tall mountain, populated by mounted animals, rises from the floor of the massive sporting goods store. (Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors to Scheels sporting goods store check out the two 16,000-gallon aquariums near the entrance. (Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times)
