Bass Pro Shops appears to be the focus of a "significant economic development announcement” Wednesday in Spartanburg.
A 4 p.m. press conference, with the public invited, is scheduled Wednesday in the lobby of the David Reid Theatre at the Chapman Cultural Center. A “significant economic development announcement” is scheduled to be heralded.
Bass Pro is not expected to be the lone store. It is recognized as a destination retailer and is usually the anchor in a much bigger shopping center featuring name brand retail stores and restaurants.
A mall managing group may also be announced. Simon Malls manages Concord Mills (Concord, N.C.) and Sugarloaf Mills (Lawrenceville, Ga.), both which has Bass Pro Shops as its anchor and are almost equidistant between the probable Greer location.
Seven years ago Bass Pro was near announcing to become the anchor store at the Hwy. 14 South/85 location for a shopping complex that included retail, restaurants and a movie theater. When the economy slowed that project was put on hold.
Wednesday’s announcement will follow nearly two weeks when Cabela’s, a competitor of Bass Pro Shops, opened a 100,000-square-foot store at Magnolia Park off Woodruff Road in Greenville County. The store created 235 jobs.
Bass Pro sells fishing, hunting and camping gear in 85 shops across the U.S. and Canada that are visited by more than 116 million people a year, according to the Springfield, Missouri-based retailer.
The Greer Bass Pro will be the third store in South Carolina, with one in Myrtle Beach and another in North Charleston expected to open in 2015.