Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops plans to build a 100,000-square-foot “destination” retail store at The Bridges development on Tucson’s south side, its first in the area and third in Arizona.
Plans for the new store were revealed Tuesday as the Tucson City Council unanimously approved sales-tax incentives worth an estimated $1.4 million for the new store.
Bass Pro Shops plans to open one of its massive “destination” Outdoor World stores on Tucson’s south side.
Details about groundbreaking for the new store, which is to be built on an undeveloped site at The Bridges, and its target opening date, were not immediately available.
Bass Pro Shops issued a news release announcing plans for the new store but did not include the timing of the project and did not respond to a request for details.
Bass Pro Shops is known for its massive “Outdoor World” stores, which combine a large selection of goods with features such as target ranges, fish tanks, restaurants and video arcades to create an “immersive” retail experience.
The company plans to spend $35.8 million to build the new store on roughly 13 acres at The Bridges, a 350-acre master-planned community adjacent to Interstate 10, between South Park Ave. and South Kino Parkway.
The retailer will employ about 128 workers in full- and part-time positions, according to a memo to the city council by City Manager Michael Ortega.
Bass Pro Shops is known for its massive “Outdoor World” stores, which combine a large selection of goods with features such as target ranges, fish tanks, restaurants and video arcades to create an “immersive” retail experience.
Ortega told the council that the economic impact of the new store will far outweigh the city sales-tax break.
The proposed incentive is a reimbursement, for qualifying expenses, of up to 45% of the 2% unrestricted city sales taxes, excluding construction, paid by the company over a five-year incentive term.
Over five years, the project is expected to generate direct revenue to the city of $4.7 million and more than $11.8 million to other taxing districts.
Ortega noted that Bass Pro Shops’ Outdoor World draws more than 200 million visitors annually across its locations in the U.S. and Canada, and more than half travel more than 30 miles, attracting significant numbers of out-of-town guests.
The stores feature large aquariums and water features stocked with native fish species and used for live fishing demonstrations, as well as local antiques and artifacts, trophy fish and wildlife mounts, and murals depicting local scenes.
The stores feature large aquariums and water features stocked with native fish species and used for live fishing demonstrations, as well as local antiques and artifacts, trophy fish and wildlife mounts, and murals depicting local scenes.
Bass Pro Shops, which acquired rival Cabela’s in 2017 in a deal worth about $5 billion, operates 171 stores under both brands combined across the U.S. and Canada.
Bass Pro Shops, which acquired rival Cabela’s in 2017 in a deal worth about $5 billion, operates 171 stores under both brands combined across the U.S. and Canada.
Home Depot southeast
Do-it-yourselfers in the fast-growing area of southeast Tucson will have a shorter drive for lumber and other supplies when a new Home Depot opens on South Houghton Road near Interstate 10.
Home Depot plans to build a 136,000-square-foot home improvement retail store at Houghton Town Center, located at Houghton and Old Vail Road in southeast Tucson.
Details of that project also came to light Tuesday as the city council unanimously approved a sales incentive worth an estimated $2.6 million for the $40 million construction project.
Over a five-year incentive term, the project is expected to generate direct revenue to the city of $8.6 million, and more than $21 million to other taxing districts, Ortega told the council in a supporting memo.
The new Home Depot store will serve as an anchor tenant for Houghton Town Center and help attract additional businesses and customers to the city, Ortega said.
