Bass Pro gets extension on Memphis lease

The City Council of Memphis, Tenn., is giving Bass Pro Shops a little more time to finalize plans to renovate The Pyramid into a retail and exhibition center, according to a Tuesday report from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Bass Pro has been negotiating with the city since 2005, when the retailer signed its first letter of intent to rehabilitate the vacant sports arena into a $100 million center with retail space, restaurants and a Mississippi River conservation exhibit.

In February, the city agreed to a $35,000 monthly lease with Bass Pro, giving the company until Dec. 31 to sign a long-term lease and assessing a $500,000 penalty if the outdoor retailer pulled out of the deal.

On Tuesday, council extended the monthly agreement for an additional three months.

"The extension allows them to complete their due diligence on the project, and it allows us to collect $35,000 a month," Robert Lipscomb, the city's housing and community development director, told the Memphis paper.

Bass Pro officials were in Memphis earlier this month examining the site; they have expressed concerns over the structural integrity and seismic issues, the paper said.

Lipscomb told the Commercial Appeal that the condition of the neighboring flood wall is a crucial part of the company's effort to get insurance for the site.

"They want to make sure that flood wall is protected," Lipscomb said in the story. "If the (insurance) rate becomes too exorbitant, then they can say, 'We can't afford this.'"[[In-content Ad]]