BRANDON - It seems like there were more cars prowling the parking lot of the Westfield Brandon Mall than were parked there. A steady stream of vehicles went up and down the lanes again and again looking for that elusive open space. At noon, it could take someone up to a half-hour of driving around before pulling into an open space.

Some shoppers jumped the six-inch concrete curb along the outer road and parked on the grass. Even then, parking was at a premium.

Inside Dick’s Sporting Goods, sales manager Matthew Marks could only shake his head.

“If you can get them into the parking lot,” he says, “you can get them into the store.”

Still, as Marks looks around, things aren’t all that bad from a retailer’s perspective.

Hundreds of people are looking at bicycles, buying shirts, sports gear and fishing poles. Two trucks loaded with kayaks wrapped in plastic stood guard on either side of the front door.

Mostly people are buying exercise equipment, Marks says. And it’s not to be given to someone on Christmas morning.

“Mostly,” he said, “people are making personal purchases.”

- Keith Morelli

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