Post by Coasterdude5 on Feb 25, 2006 12:07:29 GMT -5
Wow, Bass Pro is really surprising me!!
A Bass Pro Shops megastore at The Pyramid could include an indoor hotel, a marina with on-the-water boat testing and an inclinator ride to the top of the building, according to conceptual drawings unveiled Friday.
A 2008 opening is envisioned.
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Also, officials of the Springfield, Mo.-based outdoors retailer are talking with local proponents of an indoor theme park.
"We will certainly entertain their concept," Jim Hagale, Bass Pro president, said after a Pyramid press conference attended by city and county leaders. "We're going to be very thoughtful about what goes in here. We want to make sure it's the right synergy."
The store, which would be among Bass Pro's largest, also could include multiple restaurants, an aquarium, mountain and waterfall, other water features, including a cypress swamp, and a giant scoreboard with video screen.
"I'm very optimistic at this point of working with Bass Pro," said theme park front man Greg Ericson, a local marketing executive who attended the press conference and private luncheon afterward, talking for several minutes with Hagale.
Ericson said plans for "Pyramid Park Memphis" would have to be modified, based on Bass Pro's conceptual drawings, but, "We're definitely interested in moving forward."
The Bass Pro project isn't guaranteed, despite a company press release headlined "Bass Pro Shops Coming to the Memphis Pyramid."
The company must perform due diligence on a facility built for basketball, concerts and other arena events. It's estimated the company will spend $75 million for redevelopment, and that figure could climb.
Also, Bass Pro's letter of intent with the city and county is nonbinding.
But if the plan becomes reality, it could give Memphis a major economic and tourism boost: Bass Pro's flagship store in Springfield draws 4 million visitors annually.
"Bass Pro is really a combination of many elements -- a tourist attraction, an amusement park, an aquarium, a cultural museum, a national history museum, a nature conservancy, a zoo and, finally, a very fine shopping experience," said Scott Ledbetter, chairman of the public-private committee that pursued Bass Pro.
After months of negotiation, the company recently signed the nonbinding letter of intent with the city and county. That's a precursor to a more binding development agreement.
Terms call for Bass Pro to receive $30 million in federal incentives, based on the company spending $75 million to redevelop the arena.
Bass Pro would pay a minimum of $1 million annually in rent or taxes.
Asked if anything could derail the project, Hagale said, "There are no guarantees of anything. I suppose something could happen. But frankly, I'm not aware of anything that would be a risk."
He downplayed similarities to a Buffalo, N.Y., project, in which Bass Pro is converting the city's old Memorial Auditorium and adding a hotel.
That project was announced in November 2004, but a formal contract has yet to be signed.
"That structure is pre-World War II," Hagale said of the Buffalo arena. "It's been vacant for 10 years. It's not the same type of structure with modern amenities, like The Pyramid."
Also, he said, Memphis' Downtown development is "further along on the curve" than Buffalo's.
Robert Lipscomb, chief financial officer for the city of Memphis, agreed. He also suggested Bass Pro would be motivated to move quickly for purely business reasons.
"This," Lipscomb said of Memphis and the Mid-South, "is their audience."
-- David Williams: 529-2310
--------------------
BASS PRO TIMELINE
Feb. 15: City unveils nonbinding letter of intent with Bass Pro
About April 1: target for signing a more formal development agreement
About July 1: target for Bass Pro taking possession of the building
2008: tentative opening
A 2008 opening is envisioned.
Advertisement
Also, officials of the Springfield, Mo.-based outdoors retailer are talking with local proponents of an indoor theme park.
"We will certainly entertain their concept," Jim Hagale, Bass Pro president, said after a Pyramid press conference attended by city and county leaders. "We're going to be very thoughtful about what goes in here. We want to make sure it's the right synergy."
The store, which would be among Bass Pro's largest, also could include multiple restaurants, an aquarium, mountain and waterfall, other water features, including a cypress swamp, and a giant scoreboard with video screen.
"I'm very optimistic at this point of working with Bass Pro," said theme park front man Greg Ericson, a local marketing executive who attended the press conference and private luncheon afterward, talking for several minutes with Hagale.
Ericson said plans for "Pyramid Park Memphis" would have to be modified, based on Bass Pro's conceptual drawings, but, "We're definitely interested in moving forward."
The Bass Pro project isn't guaranteed, despite a company press release headlined "Bass Pro Shops Coming to the Memphis Pyramid."
The company must perform due diligence on a facility built for basketball, concerts and other arena events. It's estimated the company will spend $75 million for redevelopment, and that figure could climb.
Also, Bass Pro's letter of intent with the city and county is nonbinding.
But if the plan becomes reality, it could give Memphis a major economic and tourism boost: Bass Pro's flagship store in Springfield draws 4 million visitors annually.
"Bass Pro is really a combination of many elements -- a tourist attraction, an amusement park, an aquarium, a cultural museum, a national history museum, a nature conservancy, a zoo and, finally, a very fine shopping experience," said Scott Ledbetter, chairman of the public-private committee that pursued Bass Pro.
After months of negotiation, the company recently signed the nonbinding letter of intent with the city and county. That's a precursor to a more binding development agreement.
Terms call for Bass Pro to receive $30 million in federal incentives, based on the company spending $75 million to redevelop the arena.
Bass Pro would pay a minimum of $1 million annually in rent or taxes.
Asked if anything could derail the project, Hagale said, "There are no guarantees of anything. I suppose something could happen. But frankly, I'm not aware of anything that would be a risk."
He downplayed similarities to a Buffalo, N.Y., project, in which Bass Pro is converting the city's old Memorial Auditorium and adding a hotel.
That project was announced in November 2004, but a formal contract has yet to be signed.
"That structure is pre-World War II," Hagale said of the Buffalo arena. "It's been vacant for 10 years. It's not the same type of structure with modern amenities, like The Pyramid."
Also, he said, Memphis' Downtown development is "further along on the curve" than Buffalo's.
Robert Lipscomb, chief financial officer for the city of Memphis, agreed. He also suggested Bass Pro would be motivated to move quickly for purely business reasons.
"This," Lipscomb said of Memphis and the Mid-South, "is their audience."
-- David Williams: 529-2310
--------------------
BASS PRO TIMELINE
Feb. 15: City unveils nonbinding letter of intent with Bass Pro
About April 1: target for signing a more formal development agreement
About July 1: target for Bass Pro taking possession of the building
2008: tentative opening