After years of speculation that began in 2001, it was announced this afternoon that the Springfield, Mo.-based outdoor store will not anchor the downtown Canal Side development.
A news conference by Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. gave details this afternoon.
Bass Pro was to be the centerpiece of the Inner Harbor makeover, a magnet for new shops and hordes of visitors. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. was willing to subsidize a Bass Pro store by some $35 million. County government kicked in $14 million for nearby infrastructure improvements.
At one time, Bass Pro was to go into the Memorial Auditorium. But the beloved but obsolete site of Buffalo sports history proved too problematic, so it was razed to give Bass Pro a shovel-ready canvas just steps from Lake Erie.
The project burst into the region's collective consciousness in 2001, when then-Mayor Anthony M. Masiello touted the benefits of Bass Pro, then a growing retailer that chose its locations selectively.
"They only open one store in a given region, and if they select Buffalo, we would have the only Bass Pro Shop in the Northeast," Masiello said in 2001. Since then, Bass Pro has opened stores in Auburn and Toledo, Ohio. Bass Pro also has shops in Harrisburg, Pa., Toronto and Cincinnati.
Johnny Morris, Bass Pro chairman and founder, seemed to like the idea of a Bass Pro in Buffalo.
"We've got this little red map that our folks do that shows the intensity -- where there's a big gathering and concentration of people who love the outdoors," Morris said in 2004. "That's one of the things that got us excited about this opportunity, realizing how many [fishermen and hunters there are here] and the concentration and the natural resources of this part of the world."
But the years passed. It took longer to fulfill Masiello's challenge than it took NASA to meet President John F. Kennedy's challenge in 1961 to land a man on the moon and return him safely to the Earth.
What's holding up final agreement? a Bass Pro spokesman was asked in 2005.
"It's such a big project. These things take time," spokesman Larry Whiteley said.
Assorted public officials today tried to put the best face on the situation.
"They're not coming, but they never were," Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, said this afternoon. "The good thing is, we are going to make something of this waterfront, and for the first time in nine years, it's within our control as a community to make the best waterfront that will accrue to the life quality and economic vitality of the city and entire region."
The chairman of the Common Council's waterfront committee says he's glad the city finally has "a yes or no answer" from Bass Pro.
Michael P. Kearns said the positive side is that the region now has $35 million that can be reappropriated for other shoreline-related priorities.
"This was an anchor tenant that didn't want to be here, and I think [Bass Pro has] known that for a long time," Kearns said.
The challenge now, Kearns added, is to try to lure other development to Canal Side, even if such ventures don't fall into the "anchor store" status.
"I don't think this gives us a black eye," Kearns said. "I think it gives us a fresh start."
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