Bass Pro Shops has put in motion plans to open its eigth store in the Sunshine State.
The 140,000-square-foot Outdoor World store is scheduled to open in 2014 along Interstate 75, near Tampa, according to a news release. Bass Pro operates six stores in Florida and has plans to open a 70,000-square-foot Tallahassee store next year, according to its
website.
"We have been hoping for a store in the Tampa market for a long time and feel we have found the absolute best retail location in the market to build our new super outdoor store," Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris said in the release.
The Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners tomorrow is expected to consider an $8.25 million incentive package to help bring Bass Pro to the area. Though none of the money would go to Bass Pro, it would pay a developer for road work in the area to support Bass Pro, shops and offices and a hotel, according to a
Tampa Bay Times report.
"Bass Pro Shops and Tampa/Hillsborough County are a perfect fit. We are a community of outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy a wide variety of sport activities year-round," Ken Hagan, chairman of the board of commissioners, said in the release. "Both Bass Pro and the county are committed to environmental conservation and preserving the natural landscape."
Bass Pro would anchor a project dubbed the Estuary, and its developer, David Verardo of I/75 Palm River Road LLC, would receive the county funds, according to the Times.
"The Bass Pro store will not only anchor the project but will be a catalyst for additional job creation and other quality development opportunities on the west of I-75. I look forward to being a part of that evolution,” Verardo said in the release.
In addition to its fishing and hunting items, store plans call for an ocean-themed bowling alley and an Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill restaurant.
Bass Pro competitor Cabela's Inc. has no Florida stores or plans to open one in the state, according to its
website.
Connecticut delayA planned 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro Outdoor World store in Bridgeport, Conn., has been delayed.
Due to utility and roadway improvements taking longer than expected, the opening of the store has been pushed back six months to mid-2014, according to the
Connecticut Post.
The project had been scheduled to open around Christmas 2013.
Bass Pro is projecting 120 million visitors this year to its 77 stores and Tracker Marine centers in the U.S. and Canada, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]
