News 4-14-07 Scheels Coming to Town

CABELLA'S NOT THE ONLY SPORT IN TOWN; TOO MUCH ADVENTURE? - Since all my comment posters seem to be in a bad mood today, I figure I'll join in and rant about something as well. Scheel's announced they are opening a store in Sparks. Click here to read. As a reader pointed out to me, do you know how big 248,000 sf is? Almost 6 acres - significantly more than two full downtown city blocks - or substantially larger than a Walmart Superstore - or bigger than the entire Olde Towne Mall including Burlington Coat Factory and everything else (243,000 sf). It's bigger than the soon-to-be Cabella's. Add a possible Bass Pro Shop into the mix too. Are there enough adventurers in Reno to support 3 outdoor mega stores as well as smaller and mid-size outfits like REI?

Post your comments
Posted by: Justin - 4/15/2007 5:43:57 PM
Considering we live in an area w/ so much outdoor recreation and a pretty significant tourist influx, I think all 3 stores could make it. I think both Cabela's and Scheel's will do fine, especially since they both got Star bond funding and will open first. If I were Bass Pro Shops I would be a bit worried. Same goes for places like Mark Fore & Strike. It's been around forever, but hasn't really kept up with the competition and has very poor customer service from what I've heard. As for the Scheel's store, it should be quite the experience. It won't take up as much land as you might be thinking since it will be 2 stories. More info. on the store taken from the link below: "Special attractions will include Giant Aquariums, a Scheels Wildlife Mountain, an operating Ferris Wheel, a home decorand gift lodge, shooting galleries, and simulators for everything from golf to hockey where customers can test their skills. There will be a deli restaurant, Starbucks, and many more amenities to make the shopping adventure something unlike the Sparks retail customer has ever experienced." http://www.scheelssports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ScheelsStoreView?catalogId=10101&storeId=10001&langId=-1&storeLoc=RS

Posted by: Dave Aiazzi - 4/17/2007 11:08:40 PM
Cabela's has NOT received ANY Star Bond Funding (can't anyone get this yet?)

Posted by: Mike Van H - 4/18/2007 11:19:01 AM
Dave A. is correct (of course duh he is on the city council, he should know), Cabella's has not YET received any STAR Bond financing. However Dave, must of us citizens only go with what we read, which was when the project was announced they said they are interested/plan on using Star Bonds, just like GSR. However, few of us can track the exact progress of that process, so from a public perspective, we assume it either went through, or will be going through shortly. http://www.cityofreno.com/gov/news/?newsid=17231. Unlike GSR, there was no talk from the press of the 120-day feasability-study period etc, not even in that official City of Reno press release does it mention the process. In fact, if you google STAR Bonds, very little information comes up on the subject, and the info that does is based almost entirely in Kansas (weird). So forgive the public for our lack of knowledge of the STAR bond process :)

Posted by: Dave Aiazzi - 4/18/2007 7:19:24 PM
This wasn't meant to be a slam on public but on the institutions that are supposed to convey the news to the public. At every public meeting we have stressed that Cabella's has not yet received Star Bonds (in fact they haven't formally asked for them yet).

Posted by: Mike Van H - 4/18/2007 7:39:26 PM
Thanks for the clarification! In any case, sportsmen will have a LOT more shopping choices, which is good.