Usain Bolt will be in town to open JD Sports biggest ever store in Greater Manchester

JD have gone big for the new look Trafford Centre store

Greater Manchester is officially home to the largest JD in the world - and shoppers will get chance to go inside from Saturday when famous faces will officially open the store.

Earlier this week, the sports brand confirmed the date and details for the opening of the flagship Trafford Centre store, promising that they are going ‘all out for the opening.’

The Manchester Evening News was invited to an exclusive first look inside the store and we can assure you it was a promise well kept. Found in the familiar spot facing Blank Street Coffee, the brand has renovated 42,400 sqft of space to create what is essentially a JD on steroids.

Inside you'll find the usual offerings of all the latest and greatest in footwear, street and sportswear. However, the biggest change will be the inclusion of stations from frequent JD collaborators.

These stations are almost like corner shops in the sprawling mini-city of urban delights. One of those little stores belongs to Salford based MattBCustoms, which is a bespoke footwear customisation company that was set up by Walkden native, Matthew Burgess.

Joining the in this little neighbourhood is Crep Protect, a trainer cleaning company where customers can leave their dirty slacks to be scrubbed with a three-day turnaround. Both Crep Protect and MattBCustoms will be open seven days a week, with customers able to use their services as and when they please.

Other highlights include an Adidas Originals Market where customers can buy decorations to bedazzle their Adidas sneakers, a barbershop, a gaming station and more.

A refurb that is three years in the making, four-and-a-half million people are expected to walk through the doors each year. The massive operation will have over 300 employees, with new kiosks and self service machines installed to keep up with the new demand.

The date has been set for its official public opening event on Saturday, June 7 at 10am at the huge new location on Regent Crescent, close to Sephora and M&S.

Olympics icon and Puma ambassador Usain Bolt, will be doing the opening honours at the JD store and will also be joined by frequent JD collaborators and YouTube superstars, Beta Squad, to co-host a live sprint showdown.

Lucky audience members will be chosen at random to race as part of Team Bolt and Team Beta to go head-to-head in a relay race around a purpose-built running track outside the store.

Members of the winning team will each receive a £250 PUMA x JD gift card, with limited-edition prizes for the runners-up.

They've also teamed up with PUMA across the Saturday and Sunday, with giveaways and the chance to win a brand-new pair of PUMA Nitros as well as VIP tickets to Manchester City.

To celebrate the new store, JD will also hold events across the following two weekends as well.

The following weekend, on Saturday June 14 and 15, will see a link up with MattBCustoms and Stanley for what is billed as "the ultimate customisation experience" for anyone buying a Stanley tumbler or bottle in store.

JD Sports was first established by John Wardle and David Makin back in 1981 where they traded from a single shop in Bury. They first opened the business as "John David Sports", but over time it became shortened to JD, a combination of the first letter of their names.

It has now grown to over 4,500 stores in 36 countries worldwide, amid a boom in demand for sportswear fashions from big brands like Nike, Puma and Adidas, hailing itself "the undisputed king of trainers".

The new JD will be the latest of a number of big openings and expansions planned this summer at the Trafford Centre. As the M.E.N. reported in April, a huge deal has been signed with a fashion giant who is taking over the former M&S site on Peel Avenue.

It will see the arrival of new fashion store Bershka, while popular brands Zara and Pull & Bear will both be moving to larger stores on Peel Avenue from their current locations in the mall.

Those changes run alongside a number of other refurbishments and relocations taking place over the next few months in the iconic shopping centre.

Lacoste is relocating to a larger store, Hollister is being refurbished and Moss is relocating, among others. Gymshark is also set to open in the summer, at Upper Peel Avenue.