Bass Pro details 'unique' Memphis Pyramid project

The 32-story, stainless steel Pyramid Arena will be redeveloped with “unique components not seen in any of our other stores,” Bass Pro President Jim Hagale said in a news release.

Among the preliminary plans for the Memphis Pyramid Outdoor World site is a hotel, restaurant, aquarium, museum, marina on the banks of the Mississippi River, and a huge fishing lure that moves people to an observation deck at the Pyramid’s peak. Officials also envision NASCAR races and hunting videos shown on the arena’s giant scoreboard and an education/performance center that could be used for community events and concerts.

Bass Pro and Memphis officials have estimated the redevelopment price tag at between $75 million and $100 million, which Bass Pro would cover. Bass Pro will receive no city or state redevelopment incentives, a rare scenario in Bass Pro’s nationwide retail expansion. For instance, the company is receiving $20 million in state and local incentives to open an Outdoor World in Portage, Ind.

Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley was unsure if the company would go after federal dollars for the Memphis project.

“It doesn’t mean there won’t be the possibility,” he said. “This is a lot of money to be investing to this thing, which will add to the area as far as visitors, jobs and sales taxes.”

That’s been Bass Pro’s pitch to garner public bond dollars and tax abatements in exchange for its retail presence. The stores are said to draw millions of people a year and attract spinoff developments.

It’s worked so far in Portage, where Cracker Barrel and LongHorn Steakhouse already have followed Bass Pro’s announcement.

Hopes are high in Memphis, too.

“Our partnership with … Bass Pro Shops ensures a strong foundation to expand our economic development to benefit the city and attract other businesses,” said Robert Lipscomb, Memphis’ chief financial officer, in a release.

Under terms of a signed memorandum of understanding, Bass Pro also would cover the Pyramid’s $22 million debt service with rent payments of up to $1 million a year.

Whiteley said Bass Pro’s signature restaurant, Islamorada Fish Co., would open in the Pyramid, but the hotel brand and operator is unknown at this point. The next steps in the process are to finalize renderings, study the building for feasibility of specific plans and sign the lease, Whiteley said.

The Memphis Pyramid plans parallel those in Buffalo, N.Y., where Bass Pro is working to convert the vacant Memorial Auditorium into an outdoor sporting goods store with hotel and other developments. That project has taken longer than expected, following a late 2004 announcement.

Bass Pro operates 33 stores in 21 states and Canada. According to www.basspro.com, eight to 10 more stores are scheduled to open this year, keeping up with an accelerated development phase that blends retail, entertainment, conservation and outdoor education.

The Memphis and Buffalo projects are tentatively scheduled for openings in 2008.

Memphis Pyramid Facts

• taller than Statue of Liberty or Taj Mahal

• footprint spans six football fields

• more than a half-million square feet of usable space

• base covers 360,000 square feet

Click here to see a full rendering of Bass Pro's plans for the Pyramid.