Bass Pro to anchor Mall of America's $1B addition

The Springfield-based sporting goods retailer announced last week it would open its first Outdoor World Store in Minnesota at the Mall of America near Minneapolis.

The store would occupy about 300,000 square feet as the northeast anchor of the mall’s 5.6-million-square-foot Phase II addition – a $1 billion project on 42 acres north of the existing shopping and entertainment complex.

“This highly visible and accessible location will enable us to better serve our many customers and all outdoor enthusiasts that visit and live in this beautiful area of the country,” Bass Pro Shops President Jim Hagale said in a news release.

Maureen Bausch, vice president of business development for the Mall of America, was still brimming with enthusiasm two days after the long-awaited announcement.

“They’ve been very patient, and we are thrilled they are coming to Minnesota,” she said.

Bass Pro officials were tight-lipped about the company’s lease agreement with Mall of America, which took more than a year to finalize. Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said the deal was delayed by a lengthy ownership battle for the mall earlier this year.

Last month, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported that the Edmonton, Alberta-based Ghermezian family became the sole owner of the mall after buying out investment partners Simon Property Group, which owns Battlefield Mall and an outlet mall in Branson, and Teachers Insurance and Annuity.

The Bass Pro at Mall of America will be one of the company’s larger stores, but Whiteley said it would be smaller than the flagship hunting, fishing and camping emporium at Sunshine Street and Campbell Avenue. Bass Pro stores in Clarksville, Ind., and Auburn, N.Y., also are attached to malls.

The exact configuration of the new store hasn’t yet been determined, but it will include a boat showroom for models built by sister company Tracker Marine Group.

Focus group meetings conducted by a team of Bass Pro representatives in Minnesota will help shape the store’s distinctive design, which Whiteley said is typically based on local history and customer needs. In an area known for its lakes, an emphasis on fishing is likely, he added.

Bass Pro also is conducting market research to see if one of its Islamorada Fish Co. restaurants would be a good fit at the mall. Nine of its stores, mainly in the southeastern U.S., include the seafood restaurants, according to the company’s Web site, www.basspro.com.

Whiteley wouldn’t comment on Bass Pro’s previously reported plans for a themed hotel above its new store, but mall officials said the feature hasn’t been scrapped.

“My understanding is they would still like a hotel on top of their building,” Bausch said.

The mall’s Phase II expansion began in summer 2003, when home furnishings retailer IKEA broke ground for a 306,000-square-foot store and 320-seat restaurant at the adjacent construction site formerly occupied by the Met Sports Center.

Bausch said a financing proposal utilizing public money to offset the cost of the expansion is expected go before state lawmakers in the next legislative session. She said the fate of the proposal would not affect Bass Pro’s commitment.

Completion of the Phase II expansion, which more than doubles its space, would make the Mall of America the world’s largest mixed-use retail, entertainment and recreational complex and would contribute an estimated $2 billion annually to the regional economy, according to its Web site, www.mallofamerica.com.

The mall logs more than 40 million visits each year, and the expansion would add another 20 million visits, according to internal market research.

Mall officials hope to break ground some time next year with the goal of opening the fully leased complex in 2011, Bausch said.