Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Bass Pro Is a Go
Posted by John Branston on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Wharton noted that Time magazine called Bass Pro "the hottest store in retailing." Time, which was the hottest thing in publishing 50 years ago, made the statement in October of 2005.
The agreement will go to the Memphis City Council on July 27th. The tentative opening date is November, 2011, but Bass Pro representative Jim Hagale said that could change if a seismic retrofit of The Pyramid takes longer than expected.
The city will retain ownership of The Pyramid, which opened in 1991, and receive $1 million a year in rent or two percent of annual gross sales, whichever is greater. The city will pay $30 million in construction costs, which it plans to get from a state rebate of taxes collected in a Tourism Development Zone.
Wharton called the deal, which was more than five years in the making, "the most complex and complicated public-private partnership ever undertaken in this region." He said there will be no city tax money spent on it.
Hagale gave few details of what the final product will look like, but he said Bass Pro founder John Morris will do something "spectacular" with the vast empty spaces in The Pyramid and might remove the floor of the observation deck to create a giant atrium. The original plan for the observation deck included an exterior inclinator that was never built. He also said there would be no hotel rooms inside the Pyramid.
Bass Pro will partner with Memphis-based Ducks Unlimited and retail developer Poag and McEwen to reenergize the Pinch district north of the convention center. The combined projects, he said, would create 1,000 or more jobs but not all of those would be in the Bass Pro store.
He said the company had been "tested by fire" during the recession and he and Morris are "more confident than ever" in Bass Pro's business model that blends hunting and fishing equipment with outdoor displays, aquariums, restaurants, and conservation programs.
"We are not intimidated by new store development," he said.
Bass Pro is privately held and does not disclose store sales. Hagale said retail traffic, as measured by turnstile counts at store entrances, was up last year in 48 of 52 weeks. He said retail traffic generally translates into sales but did not give any numbers.
Comments (55)
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TV should be along shortly to announce his own omniscience regarding this matter in his usual modest, self-effacing manner.
Jeff says
: Never thought it would happen.
Yeah, well if you would have been reading me back in 2006 (still in print in the DNA Newsletter) you would have known that I never waivered and guaranteed it was coming.
There NEVER was one single doubt that this project would happen.
I took the time to open doors and meet with HAgle and Lipscomb and get the real facts. The Appeal and this rag did nothing but ignore the positives and accentuate the negatives.
Of course you never thought it would happen. You are a sheep who believes whatever the media tells you.
It is sickening how so many native Memphians would rather cling on to dead, worthless shit like Overton Dump and Meaningless cobblestones, and instead attack a good, decent businessman who actually BELIEVES in Memphis.
I said all along this is a great project and it will move Memphis forward. FINALLY, the socialite mindset will be completely trampled by new investment, new energy and new commerce.
Beale Street Landing needs to be finished and we should dig graves for Cromer and West.
BRAVO Robert Lipscomb! Bravo Jim Hagle!
God Bless Bass Pro.
Jeff: Never thought it would happen.
Told you so.....that TV would turn up like a bad penny to announce his nostradamus-like genius.
Congratulations Tommy, seriously, I hope this thing is a rousing success. Let's talk again in 5 or 6 years and see what the financial status of this project is and if the taxpayers are on the hook. I have a feeling we will be. Hope I'm wrong. I'll probably shop there once or twice before the novelty wears off and I go back to Bronson's. God Bless Sidney Schlenker.
I'm disappointed there won't be a fish on the outside. I was hoping it would obscure the glare from the damn thing. It's given me a sunburn. Really.
Tommy, you are absolutely right, which is why I am now a sheep who believes anything you tell me. Baaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Now that they have the Pyramid tied up, get ready for the calls for a new convention center.
So is the lease for 20 years or 55 years (CA)? I also noticed that the city failed to release the opt-out clauses for both parties as promised.
Being critical is not unpatriotic, Tommy. Close scrutiny of government is not just needed, but is critical. We (as a city) have been burned more than once. Sure I'm glad that they are making progress, but I choose to remain skeptical until the doors actually open and the full contract is made public.
Well, Tommy's certainly convinced me. Bass Pro is fortunate to have such an eloquent and forceful advocate.
Tommy, you've won the contest. For most straw men erected and knocked down in a single post, that is. You're more like a cartoon character than a real person, know that?
Well said, Tommy. I'm really looking forward to all the new development in the Pinch that will be attracted by all those people walking from their cars, across the parking lot into the Bass Pro. It should really revitalize downtown, much as the Mall of Memphis revitalized East Memphis.
Tommy needs to spend a little less time gloating and a little more time studying the dictionary and cleaning his language up. If you can't get your point across without vulgar name calling, keep it to yourself prick.
Tommy,
Your simplified elementary school economics are hilarious. They are about as well thought out as your simplified salesmen seminar science.
Bass Pro made the 1000 job statement, not us.
TV: You are one sick puppy. Generalizing about people based on their names and threatening to kill others.
Nice talk. Go find someone to give you a hug. Followed by a big shot of haldol. I hear it's really good for Tourette's Syndrome.
madmerc: 20 years with option for seven renewals of five years each. should have included that.
tommyv: this "rag" as you put it is our house, not your stage. start your own or take the insults somewhere else.
Wow $1,000,000 in rent per year or 2% of gross sales? And the city (state) is providing $30,000,000 for improvements? How the hell did bass pro get that sweet ass deal. I'm glad the city is finally getting something out of the pyramid but that lease looks like robbery from here.
I dunno JB. As defensive as I can be of "our house" the medium is the message. And something about "Tommy V: Rag-Rider" appeals to me
North Bartlett, you're ignoring all the revitalization of north downtown. See, all those people driving in will have to drive through these neighborhoods, and as they drive through, prosperity will spread from their tires trackses like corn from the print of Demeter's sandle.
It's gonna be like Disney on the Missippi. I know it, cause Tommeh say.
I agree, Chris. If I hadn't met Tommeh here, I'd still be a clueless liberal bag of garbage. But I been shown the light, and all my ignorance has been warshed away.
JB: I am with you. The guy is like a kid who stomps on ant beds to watch them come furiously spilling out. I don't know about others, but I'm bored with it, taking into consideration Bruce referred to him (and/or the traffic he generates) as "web gold", or something to that effect. TV, create a blog or something. This is not volinchak.com. At least I don't think it is.
TV: So your point is...I told you so? "If you'd been reading me back in 2006 (still in print in the DNA newsletter)..." Who cares what you said in a newsletter? That's your basis for credibility? Wow. Very impressive. I bet the Bass Pro brass don't even remember who you are. I mean, obviously, you weren't at the meeting. But by all means, sleep with this article under your pillow if it calms you down. Because you seriously need to calm down. All these death threats and name calling are not the behaviors of a "good, decent businessman." Tommy, if it's not too late, please do not read Catcher in the Rye. Please.
"Time, which was the hottest thing in publishing 50 years ago, made the statement in October of 2005" So true! I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see this revitalizing anything.
What amazes me is that this story has a perfect headline and nobody used it:
"Bass Pro Takes the Pyramid...Hook, Line and Shlenker"
JB: don't banish TV. He's a bit harsh, but no one really takes his rants seriously (and if they do, they shouldn't). I mean, come on, JB; the guy bowls and plays the accordion. Have mercy.
As I said on another post (and packrat agreed with on this one), TV is cartoonish. He's become a caricature of himself. He's kinda like one of those homeless folks who babbles, mostly to himself (remember Dancin' Jimmy?). Sometimes, though (much as I hate to admit it), something he says actually makes sense. Please don't ask me when the last time he did that was. Actually, I kinda liked the way he put down pretentious downtowners in his famous diatribe.
Happy 4th of July, bitches! This weekend I'm drinking a Guinness for each and every one of you.
Hey Phlo - been missing your quips & quotes! Welcome back. And drink a couple of pints for me! I'll do the same for you the first opportunity I get.
Thanks, Merc. Been slammed this past month, which is a good thing. But I keep up with you and the MFUCC gang. You guys have kicked it up a serious notch. Clearly you've all learned a thing or two from TV's lengthy diatribes. Bwaa ha ha ha!
Guys, thanks for all the psychological analysis. You don't know shit about science, politics, business or America, so it is only fitting that you jizz on your own chins trying to stop the bitch slapping I am giving you.
The statement "this is our board" really validates all that I have ever said about the cancerous, spineless liberal element that criplles Memphis. Until I came here you pole-smokers pretty much had it your way, the uncontested, spineless, unworldly liberal way.
Like an effete social club you have spent God only knows how many countless hours posting inane mental masturbation to each other in one big circle jerk. The Jewish saying "when two men in a company agree all the time, one of the men you don't need" couldn't apply more than to you stool samples.
Now, should I really be posting in such a way to essentially laugh at your lack of manhood? Duh, let's see, there's one of me, there's a latrine-load of you, and here you are squealing like a battered wife that I am bullying you.
Is some of my stuff tongue in cheek? I'll never tell, but me making fun of you? Yes, I think you guys are spinelss and I really don't have even a good fart of respect for you.
Nothing that happens in Memphis is ever good enough for you. God forbid an outsider brings a new idea let alone challenges meaningless, useless bullshit like cobblestones and Overton's eyesore.
Now, if all this liberal bullshit of yours WAS moving Memphis ahead? Then you would have my respect. But that isn't the case. For how many years you have had nothing at the North End. The $30 million being invested is not being given to Bass Pro. The damned Pyramid is not fit to move into. I suppose when you dildo's buy property you wouldn't have the landlord replace damaged items, neglected mechanical items and safety issues.
Bass Pro is LEASING the Pyramid, not buying it. It's Memphis's responsiblilty to make the buidling acceptable to a tenant. Again, I would ask you homos, what viable projects have investors brought to the city?
So you say, this is our place? Not at all. Wherever I go, it's MY place. That's how it works.
As for the name calling? Again, toughen up. What kind of a man whines about being called a homo, dildo, pole smoker or liberal vermin? I would bet dollars to donuts that the entire group of you hasn't been laid 10 times in your collective lives. I would also be willing to bet those of you who have been laid did so with the same guy. But I digress, again.
Regardless if I post here and remain the most popular topic of conversation, or start my own blog, you ballet dancers won't be happy. I will be popular wherever I go, your women will continue to have a moisty for me, and you will be so intimidated that you won't be able to get it up.
And let's be honest liberals, THAT is your real problem with me!
Happy Fourth Of July, even though you would destroy America.
Tommy V
LIBERALS IN 1985 - We are destorying the Ozone Layer with our emissions. The ozone layer cannot be replaced and it protects us
LIBERALS IN 2010 - The ozone layer is repairing itself and with global warming this may be hazardous to the planet
Idiots, Godless, mindless, gutless
"Boo Hoo Hoo, Waaaaaa Waaaaa Booo Hooooo............. Taaaaaaawmee you are mean, you don't understand how many times we have been lied to, mislead and generally left holding the bag...............
Boo Hoo Hoooo, Waaaaaaa............. we can't ever belive in anything again. It's too risky, we don't want to get hurt again..............."
Life's tough, limpdicks. Quit holding on to a Memphis that rotted away 20 years ago. So ya get punched in the snapper a few times; so bleeping what.
But you see why I don't like liberals? You think you have some God given right to have your ass powdered, and if someone makes you uncomforable, well Obama's gonna give you some gubmint cheese and a hind tit to suck on.
Boo Hoooo Hoooooooo.............. we've been lied to.
Guys, AC WHarton arranged for all of you to get free pantyhose Tuesday morning. Enjoy!
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm still waiting to hear your answer about Vietnam.
Me thinks Tommy spends too much time worrying about smoking poles and the limpness of dicks.
Scott: For some stupid reason after reading your post an old Hoagy Carmichael song popped into my demented head:
"It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me
Oh no
It's just the limpness of dicks"
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