Joins Orvis, Cabela's in growing retail market
Popular outdoor outfitter Bass Pro Shops announced Wednesday that it will partner with Station Casinos, Inc. to open a superstore adjoined to a planned hotel-casino at the base of Mount Rose in south Reno.
The Springfield, Mo.-based company has 33 locations, including one in Las Vegas. Seven new stores opened in 2005 and several others are in the planning stage.
Martin MacDonald, Bass Pro's director of public relations, said the move into the Reno market makes sense both in the local customer base and the tourism market.
The high-desert landscape of Northern Nevada provides such a variety of options for outdoors enthusiasts that local customers will tap the range of products the store offers, MacDonald said.
"It's a great outdoor setting," he said. "This is our customer base."
While the size of the proposed store hasn't been set, Bass Pro Shops usually range between 130,000 and 160,000 square feet and employ between 250 and 300 people.
On the tourism front, MacDonald said the Bass Pro Shops store in Springfield is the state's largest tourist attraction and draws about 4 million visitors a year.
Its business model will work well with Station Casinos, which also provides a resort, destination-style product, he said. Reno's status as a tourist draw also plays into that dynamic.
"Bass Pro stores are tourist destinations and this is a tourist destination, so it fits our customer base," MacDonald said.
"Their store will attract outdoor enthusiasts not only from the Reno market, but also from throughout Nevada and Northern California," Station President Lorenzo Fertitta said. "Bass Pro Shops' desire to open an Outdoor World superstore in reno is another sign of the strength of this market and will be another reason for people to come to Reno."
Timelines have not been set for construction or opening of the store. Station Casinos officials are waiting for final approval of the Redfield Regional Center before announcing details of their project and applying for permits.
The Redfield Regional Center sets aside for unrestricted gaming 50 acres controlled by Station Casinos. That plan is scheduled for review by the Regional Planning Commission in January.
If approved, Station officials plan to move forward with special-use permit application to build, said Lori Neslon, Station's director of corporate communications.
"If everything stays on track, we're still hoping to be breaking ground by the end of 2006," Nelson said.
She said the company likely will serve as the developer for the Bass Pro Shops store, but those details haven't been finalized. It also isn't celar whether the store or the hotel-casino would open first, she added.
The announcement comes just one week after Orvis, another national outdoor gear supplier and clothier, said it will be an anchor tenant of The Summit Sierra, a mall project under construciton directly across the street from the planned casino.
MacDonald said he's confident that Bass Pro Shops can co-habitate with Orvis, as well as Cabela's, another popular outdoor outfitter with plans to open in Northern Nevada. Cabela's is negotiating with Boomtown Reno for property at that hotel-casinos Verdi site.
"We make our decision on our customer base and the vision we have for the company," MacDonald said.
Each Bass location has four primary components: retail, education, conservation and entertainment. Each store is tailored to the community it's in, including such things as making sure the stone around a fireplace is native to the region, MacDonald said.
More than just a fishing and hunting store, Bass includes equipment and clothing for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, camping and outdoor cooking. A gift and nature center has a wide variety of outdoor-related items, from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture.
The Reno store will also feture an expansive boat showroom and service center, with a complete selection of Tracker, Nitro, Tahoe, Sun Tracker, Grizzly, Kenner, Mako and SeaCraft boats built by Tracker Marien Group. Weekly free outdoor skills workshops are offered for kids, women, novice adults and families.
Laser arcades, climbing walls, archery ranges, gun rooms, NASCAR shops and more add to the family entertainment.
"The idea for us is to bring as many entertainment options as we can to offer our guests that variety," MacDonald said.