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Topics: Bakersfield Business, Bass Pro Shops, Bakersfield fishing, Bakersfield outdoors, Bakersfield shopping
Posted by admin Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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A Bass Pro Shops store catering to Kern's many outdoors enthusiasts is set to be part of a mammoth new retail development in south Bakersfield. The 150,000-square-foot outdoor store is tentatively scheduled to open in early 2009 in a shopping center planned for the northeast corner of Highway 99 and Hosking Avenue.

Store plans call for a sales floor the size of 31/2 football fields filled with merchandise ranging from equipment and clothing for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, backpacking and bicycling. It will also include a large boat showroom and service center.

Bass Pro Shops is the only confirmed tenant of Bakersfield Gateway, a 1-million-square-foot, mixed-use retail development situated on 93 acres. The retail center is expected to open in early 2010, though some stores may open earlier.

When complete it is expected to accommodate a movie theater with 12 to 16 screens and a mix of restaurants and stores large and small, including about a dozen national retailers. Plans by developer The Woodmont Co., a full-service, Fort Worth, Texas-based commercial real estate firm, call for a central gathering area, fountains, park benches and attractive landscaping.

A new highway interchange is also planned for Highway 99 and Hosking Avenue.

"This project is ideally located for the growth southern Bakersfield has been experiencing. It is the gateway to Bakersfield," said Woodmont Co. chairman Stephen Coslik. "Bass Pro Shops give this center the possibility to be a regional draw. We think the inclusion of Bass Pro Shops will ensure the viability of this project."

The Bass Pro Shops store will employ about 300, with an additional 200 working at the Islamorada Fish Co. restaurant inside the store.

Despite the positive job growth expected from the store opening, it could hurt some local independent stores.

"They will pretty much put all of the independent stores involved with hunting and fishing out of business mainly because of their size, inventory and prices," said Clay Rutledge, manager of Bob's Bait Bucket in Bakersfield. "It's one thing to compete against someone like Big 5 or Wal-Mart that doesn't specialize in what we do, but having Bass Pro coming into town will pretty much wipe us all out."

Rutledge said a lot of times Bass Pro Shops is able to sell products for cheaper than Bob's Bait Bucket can buy them. But he said he won't worry about the competition until the store actually breaks ground.

Ken Quarnberg, owner of Valley Gun in Bakersfield, said he is not sure how the proposed Bass Pro Shops store would affect his business. But Quarnberg said smaller independent specialty stores like his are able to offer better customer service, expertise and personal attention than large chain stores like Bass Pro Shops.

"They are a big successful chain," Quarnberg said of Bass Pro Shops. "They have huge successful stores and carry a very diverse product line. Obviously they have a lot to offer.

"But at Valley Gun we have 45 years of experience serving the people of Kern County. We still have a lot to offer in personal service and friendship and commitment to this community."

The Bakersfield Bass Pro Shops is expected to be the fourth California store for the Springfield, Mo.-based chain, which currently has 44 stores in 24 states and Canada. The Bakersfield store will be an Outdoor World location, which is the chain's larger superstore classification that Bass Pro Shops began building in the early 1980s.

"Bakersfield is one of the fastest-growing, large-population cities in the United States," Bass Pro Shops President Jim Hagale said in a written statement. "This store will be dedicated to the families and visitors who enjoy the many outdoor traditions this area has to offer."

Larry Whiteley, Bass Pro Shops' manager of corporate public relations, said Bakersfield was chosen as a store location based on its size, demographics, local Internet sales and the number of hunting and fishing licenses and outdoor activities in the area.

Bakersfield will join a Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga, a store planned to open in Manteca next year and a store planned for Sacramento in 2009, as California locations.

Whiteley said the Bakersfield store will have a unique theme with murals and old photos based on the area's history and outdoor activities.

Incorporated in the store will also be a large aquarium stocked with native fish species.

"It is a destination; it is not just a store," Whiteley said. "It's an aquarium with water features throughout. It's a museum, an antique store, an art gallery with the murals we put in the store and all the unique features. We also sell retail."

Vince Roche, senior vice president of the Bakersfield office of CB Richard Ellis, which is handling the leasing of the the shopping center, said he expects the project to house between 20 and 40 tenants, some of them first-in-market national retailers.

"This is a great regional retail site right on the freeway," Roche said. "We are just beginning the marketing campaign. We are going to target all the national chain stores and local and regional chains as well."

Last Updated: Friday, Sep 7 2007 9:11 AM

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