Bass Pro opens 40th store; nine more on 2007 docket

The Feb. 21 opening in Olathe, Kan., marks store No. 40 and Bass Pro’s entry into state No. 24. Seven days earlier, the Springfield-based outdoor retailer opened a Portage, Ind., store.

Nine more stores are on the 2007 docket, starting with Bolingbrook, Ill., in April, and Mesa, Ariz., in May, said corporate spokesman Larry Whiteley. In June, Bass Pro will enter the California market with a store in Rancho Cucamonga. Whiteley said the other cities, listed in their scheduled order, are Prattville, Ala.; Miami; Pearland, Texas; Denham Springs, La.; Independence; and Foxboro, Mass. The Independence store, just east of Kansas City, is slated for a November opening.

“That’s almost 50 stores by the end of the year,” Whiteley said, adding that there is no magic number the company is after.

The openings have created such a buzz in their respective communities that city, transportation and company officials have collaborated to redirect traffic and beef up street patrol during grand opening celebrations.

A typical opening

begins with a Wednesday night Evening for Conservation, with special

guests, ribbon cuttings, autograph sessions with fishing pros and conservation groups’ booths inside the store. The store opens on Thursday, with special sales throughout the weekend.

Whiteley said “thousands upon thousands” converge on the stores during these weekends.

The Evening for Conservation events alone draw between 12,000 and 25,000 people, he said.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s Feb. 26 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.