Bass Pro plans to open first Alaska store

Bass Pro Shops has put in motion plans to open its first store in Alaska.

The Springfield-based outdoor retailer has announced it will open a 100,000-square-foot Outpost store in Anchorage. About four adjacent acres will be developed as a wetlands nature center, according to a news release.

“This highly visible and accessible location makes it the perfect place for us to build what we hope will become our premier flagship Outpost store to better serve the sportsmen of Alaska and the millions of tourists that come to Alaska," Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris said in the release. The first Outpost store - a concept smaller in size than the company's Outdoor World locations -opened at the Branson Landing in 2006.

The Anchorage store, which would generate 200 jobs, is expected to open in spring 2013, in time for fishing season.

Plans for the Bass Pro store in Anchorage follow a July announcement that competitor Cabela’s Inc. would build its first Alaska store in the city.

Chappell, Neb.-based Cabela’s (NYSE: CAB) said it would begin construction on the 100,000-square-foot store in the spring of 2013, according to a separate release.