For decades, the Honus Wagner Co. store Downtown has been a sports fan's paradise, crammed to the rafters with jerseys, jackets, T-shirts, sneakers and, of course, Terrible Towels.

But after more than 50 years on Forbes Avenue, the sporting goods retailer named after the Pirates' Hall of Fame shortstop could be in the twilight of its long run.

Point Park University has reached agreement with the store owner on an option to purchase the property as part of its plans to move the Pittsburgh Playhouse to Downtown.

Under the terms of the agreement, the university will take control of the property once the owner, Murray Shapiro, chooses to vacate or in four years, whichever comes first.

Either way, the clock appears to be ticking on the venerable store, which was founded in 1918 by the legendary Honus Wagner himself and has occupied the same spot on Forbes Avenue since 1952, when it was described as a "modern air-conditioned shop."

"I would not choose to close up if I had my druthers," Mr. Shapiro said yesterday. "There are four years and an awful lot can happen in four years."

Mr. Shapiro stressed in a phone interview that the store isn't in any imminent danger of closing. He said he hopes to be able to keep the business open for the full four years, if possible.

He declined to discuss details of the agreement with Point Park, citing confidentiality.

"We're running it as we always have for the last 75 to 80 years," he said.

Yesterday, that meant hawking Steelers Super Bowl merchandise, from plaques commemorating Santonio Holmes' game-winning catch and James Harrison's 100-yard interception return to sweatshirts proclaiming the team's record six Super Bowl victories.

At one time, long before professional sports became a multibillion-dollar industry, the store supplied uniforms for the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as semi-pro and high school teams in the region.

As for whether the store would move elsewhere when its run on Forbes ends, Mr. Shapiro was noncommittal.

"It's too early to speculate on that. Four years is an awfully long time," he said.

Point Park has coveted the property as part of its plan to transform its Downtown campus into an urban academic village, but until recently had not able to make headway with the owner.

A sales agreement on the property already has been reached and will take effect once Point Park exercises its option, university spokeswoman Mary Ellen Solomon said.

"It's been a parcel we've been interested in and the opportunity just came up," she said.

The school would not disclose the financial terms of the sale or the option. It already owns several properties adjacent to the Honus Wagner store, including a parking lot.

Together, they will serve as the building blocks of Point Park's plan to move the Pittsburgh Playhouse from Oakland to Forbes. The complex would feature three theaters ranging from 150 to 500 seats each, production and teaching areas, a residence hall and retail space.

"We took this step as part of our effort to look at the design of the Pittsburgh Playhouse as part of the academic village initiative," Ms. Solomon said.

While the university had wanted the building for some time, it apparently is in no hurry to see its tenant leave, as evidenced by its willingness to wait four years.

One key reason is that the move of the Playhouse to Downtown doesn't occur until the second phase of Point Park's academic village master plan. While no definite timetable has been set, the second phase still is a "few years down the road," Ms. Solomon said.

Point Park initially will focus on the Wood Street and Boulevard of the Allies corridors, the central part of its campus, where it plans to build a 1,000-seat arena, student housing and a park.

It also intends to open a new student center in the Downtown YMCA, which it now owns.

In all, Point Park owns more than 15 properties in the Golden Triangle, second only to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and leases another four in whole or in part.

The master plan carries a $210 million price tag, about half of which Point Park expects to secure through a fund-raising campaign it has yet to formally announce.

The Honus Wagner store, meanwhile, eventually could end up going the same way as another local institution, Candy-Rama, which closed its last store on Fifth Avenue in November 2007 after more than five decades Downtown to make way for redevelopment.