Buffalo, NY still waiting for its Bass Pro
That was a recent headline (WMCTV.com) in Memphis; a city waiting for a Bass Pro just like we are… well, maybe not just like we are. Check out the following article. Apparently Memphis is not going to play the waiting game like Buffalo has been doing, and according to a Bass Pro spokesman they won’t have to either. According to that spokesman Buffalo is at fault for the two year delay.
Remember the hoopla? Here’s the video.
March 2, 2006, 01:10 AM EST The possibility of a Bass Pro Shop in The Pyramid has promise to Pinch District merchants.
“Hopefully, business is going to pick-up like it once was,” says Bastet Ankhre of Precious Cargo.
They watched patrons leave as FedExForum became the arena of choice. A Pyramid-based Bass Pro might lure some of them back, but it might take time. Just ask the folks in Buffalo, New York. Bass Pro Shops announced it would convert Buffalo’s old Memorial Auditorium into a mega-store. That was back in November of 2004. So far, nothing has happened.
“They’re continuing to do their due diligence,” said former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello in a recent interview. “There’s a lot of conversation taking place,” he added.
A lot of talk and not action say many in upstate New York. But a spokesman for Bass Pro Shops tells Action News 5 that what’s happening in Buffalo has nothing to do with what might happen here at The Pyramid in Memphis. He says these are two different cities and two different deals. Local leaders say they plan to hold the feet of any potential Pyramid partner to the fire.
“It’s a sizeable transaction, and important transaction, and we would rather do it right than not,” says Shelby County Commission Bruce Thompson.
“And when we come to decisions, we need to make those on solid assumptions, hard numbers, and not on flowery language,” says Commissioner Julian Bolton.
Those in “The Pinch” just hope something positive happens to The Pyramid, if not Bass Pro.
As for the situation in Buffalo, we’re told a formal contract has not even been signed. A Bass Pro spokesman says improvements the city promised have never been made. City officials say the store hasn’t committed the money it promised. As a result, frustration has replaced all of that initial fanfare.