Bass Pro Shops Construction Underway in Rocky View
Rocky View, Alberta- May 22, 2008 - Construction is underway on the new Bass Pro Shops 150,000 square foot outdoor superstore in the new CrossIron Mills being developed by Ivanhoe Cambridge. The development is located just north of Calgary in the Municipal District of Rocky View at the intersection of Queen Elizabeth Highway II and Highway #566. This will be Bass Pro Shops 57th store.
Bass Pro Shops, named the #1 outdoor retailer in America by Sporting Goods Business Magazine, is known for combining retail with entertainment, conservation and outdoor education. In January of 2008 Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris was recognized as the "Retail Innovator of the Year" by the National Retail Federation for the companies unique store concepts and designs.
"Bass Pro Shops is a dynamic outdoor retailer that will significantly enhance the retail and entertainment offering in the western Canadian marketplace and we welcome them to CrossIron Mills," commented Rene Tremblay, president and chief executive officer of Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Bass Pro Shops first Canadian store is located at Vaughan Mills another Ivanhoe Cambridge destination located in Toronto, Ontario.
"We look forward to becoming a part of the greater Calgary community and the Alberta region," stated Bass Pro Shops President Jim Hagale. "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 Canada."
Starting with just eight feet of retail space in a small store in Springfield, Missouri back in 1971, Bass Pro Shops began by offering a selection of the latest gear from the fledgling bass tournament fishing trail. Today, the name Bass Pro Shops is world renowned.
Bass Pro Shops stores are much more than just retail stores. The sights and sounds of the outdoors are brought indoors through museum-quality wildlife dioramas, huge murals and chandeliers depicting outdoor scenes, massive log and rock work, waterfalls, and other water features, and aquariums stocked with native fish species. The attention to the finest detail from wildlife tracks in the concrete, to wildlife carvings on logs and rafters is what helps add to the uniqueness of a Bass Pro Shops store.
A local theme can be felt throughout all Bass Pro Shops stores with use of artifacts and memorabilia from the area as well as historic photos of local outdoor enthusiast that pay tribute to the great outdoor heritage of the region. Laser galleries, climbing walls, archery ranges, and more add to the family entertainment.
The Rocky View store will be themed to reflect Alberta's world class river systems, the Central Flyway waterfowl migration area, rolling prairies, Alberta's Badlands, and of course the Rocky Mountains. Huge murals and museum quality wildlife dioramas will feature moose, mountain lions, elk, black bears, grizzly bears, mule deer, whitetail deer, goats, sheep, and pronghorn. The stores aquarium will be stocked with numerous native fish species.
The store will also include an expansive boat showroom featuring a complete selection of Tracker, Nitro, Grizzly and Tahoe boats as well as SunTracker pontoons built by Tracker Marine Group- the world's largest manufacturer of fishing boats.
Known as a very conservation-minded company, Bass Pro Shops provides major support to national and local organizations for their conservation projects and has received more awards for their conservation efforts than any other outdoor retailer in America.
Outdoor education is also a key component to Bass Pro Shops strong commitment to our natural resources and the sportsmen and sportswomen who enjoy them. Weekly free outdoor skills workshops are offered at all stores for kids, women, novice adults and families. It is also not unusual to see various groups, including Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, as well as school and church groups, and others on field trips to Bass Pro Shops stores to learn about the great outdoors in the comfort of the great indoors of Bass Pro Shops.
More than just a fishing and hunting store, Bass Pro Shops will also offer equipment and clothing for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, camping, outdoor cooking and more. A gift and nature center will also serve up a wide variety of outdoor-related items from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture.