Bass Pro Reeled In
I knew when it came down to it, Bass Pro would step up to the plate. The Ericson group was just a sham, and didn't stand up as serious competition. The same small town mentality that got us strapped with the Pyramid to begin with. If it had not been for calmer heads would've worked again. If Robert Lipscomb and council members had succumbed to public pressure. We might not have made it to this point. Some people were ready to turn it into an amusement park. Even though we had to close down Libertyland. In the city's haste to get rid of the building. Suitors were hoping they would have accepted the first deal that came along. Fortunately for some, unfortunately for others. That wasn't the case.
This city owes a gift of gratitude to Cummings Street church. I think they are the match that lit the proverbial flame under the Bass Pro organization. I honestly believe they still wouldn't have committed, if it hadn't been for them. It's not like Memphis was going to refuse them, whenever they decided to sign. They reportedly hung other cities out to dry. Who were vying for one of their franchises as well. Obviously they have a track record of success. Bass Pro doesn't need Memphis. Memphis needed Bass Pro. I'm glad we reeled them in.
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Bass Pro sets deal to revive Pyramid
Tenant will become 'magnet' for growth
By Amos Maki (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Sunday, August 24, 2008
After years of negotiations, Bass Pro Shops is poised to redevelop the vacant Pyramid arena with one of its famous stores, a hotel and environmental exhibits, according to materials obtained by The Commercial Appeal.
The redevelopment -- expected to cost more than $100 million -- includes a 150,235-square-foot retail store, restaurants, an aviary and a museum.
"It's been a long, arduous process, but this is a deal that is in the best interest of the city of Memphis and Bass Pro," said Mayor Willie Herenton.
Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro President Jim Haegle has signed the agreement and will be in town Monday to introduce it to members of the Shelby County Commission and Memphis City Council.
"This was always about more than just finding a tenant for The Pyramid," said Housing and Community Development director and arena reuse manager Robert Lipscomb. "Bass Pro Shops has something for everyone and will be a magnet that sparks new hotels, new retail and new activity.
"That's why we say that to suggest that Bass Pro Shops is just a store is to say that Graceland is just a house."
Herenton and Lipscomb met Friday at City Hall with lawyers and financial firms in anticipation of Monday's meetings.
The agreement includes a 12-month development period with quarterly milestones, requested by Lipscomb, that Bass Pro Shops must meet. The company will make monthly payments of $35,000 and has already submitted its first payment.
The 12-month period allows Bass Pro Shops time to finish planning and obtain all the necessary government permits and approvals. It also gives Lipscomb time to secure federal and state funds.
If Bass Pro Shops backs out at any time, the outdoor retailing giant will pay $500,000 to the city and county in addition to the rent payments.
Phillip H. McNeill Sr., former chairman of Equity Inns, and Rob Schaedle of Franklin, Tenn.-based Chartwell Hospitality have been in discussions with Bass Pro Shops to enter into a joint venture for the hotel portion of the project.
"We have been talking to them, but we don't have anything definitive yet," said McNeill.
Under the agreement, which must be approved by the city council and county commission, rent will be based on 2 percent of gross retail and restaurant sales and 1 percent of gross sales for boats, RVs, and ATVs.
The minimum annual rent Bass Pro Shops is required to pay is $1 million. The term of the agreement with Bass Pro Shops is for 20 years, with the option of seven, five-year renewals.
During the 24-month construction phase of the project, Bass Pro Shops is not required to pay rent but will assume all maintenance, upkeep, security and operational costs.
About $30 million in local funding for the project will come from a mix of federal and state sources, a small portion of which has already been acquired. The city and county will also pay off the remaining $6.8 million bond debt on the building. Bass Pro Shops will fund the rest of the project.
The final mix of funding sources will be determined later, but the agreement says no general funds from city or county governments will be used in the project.
Lipscomb said that in the unlikely event the federal and state revenues don't materialize, the project won't happen.
Lipscomb has been the point man in the negotiations, which began in August 2005, and has been the target of scorching criticism for his handling of The Pyramid reuse process after the city announced in 2001 that a new arena would be needed for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Radio host Ben Ferguson, creator of the Web site buythepyramid.com, even accused Lipscomb of taking money under the table. On Friday, Ferguson was asking listeners to come to Monday's meetings and protest.
The redevelopment process has had several twists and turns, including Friday's discovery that a group of professional athletes wants to buy The Pyramid and turn it into a mixed-use entertainment venue.
Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church also recently offered to buy the building for $12 million.
National consultants RKG Associates Inc. said the Bass Pro Shops project could produce annual revenues of $5.3 million to the city and $13.7 million to the county. RKG also said Bass Pro would create, excluding the construction phase, direct employment of 566 people and indirect employment of 95 more, generating total annual wages of $14.9 million.
-- Amos Maki: 529-2351
Funding The Project
Bass Pro Shops has signed an agreement to redevelop The Pyramid for more than $100 million. A closer look at the finances involved:
City and county commitment
$30 million from state and federal sources and payment of the $6.8 million bond debt left on the building, which first opened in 1991.
Possible state and federal funding sources
A $2 million Brownfields Grant Economic Development Initiative from HUD awarded in June.
About $21.5 million from HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. The funds were applied for this month and could take up to nine months for approval.
About $8 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Treasury Department. The funds were applied for in March and could be awarded in October.
A Tourism Development Zone, which allows the incremental increase in revenues created by a tourism project to be used in the financing of that project.
A Tax Increment Financing District could bring an additional $10 million. TIF uses future gains in taxes to finance the public improvements that will help create those gains.
About $9.2 million in bonds form the Downtown Parking Authority, an arm of the Center City Commission that issues bonds for strategic parking facilities.
Bass Pro Shops responsibilities
During construction, Bass Pro Shops will assume all maintenance, upkeep, security and operational costs.
The minimum annual rent Bass Pro is required to pay is $1 million, but would increase based on sales.
County Commission approves Bass Pro Pyramid deal
OK allows year for big store follow-through
By Alex Doniach (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Monday, November 17, 2008
An agreement approved by the Shelby County Commission on Monday gives Bass Pro Shops a year to plan a transformation of the vacant Pyramid arena into an outdoor-sports superstore.
And now that both the commission and Memphis City Council have approved the development deal, government officials say it is up to Bass Pro to follow through with plans -- three years in the making -- to turn the Pyramid into a mixed-use facility with a retail store, hotel, restaurants and museum.
"I just hope they're still interested," said Robert Lipscomb, city project manager for arena reuse, following the commission vote. "I'll place a call and tell them what happened. ... We've got to see where we go from here."
Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said Monday the company still hopes to proceed. "As far as I know, we're looking forward to moving on" with the project, he said.
After signing its first letter of intent in late 2005, Bass Pro signed a development agreement in August that would give the company another 12 months to sign a long-term lease on The Pyramid. The agreement required the go-ahead from both legislative bodies, and while the city council approved it in October, commissioners have repeatedly expressed concerns about the deal and voted it down in committee last week.
But they reversed that decision Monday with a 9-3 vote that authorizes Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton to sign the contract for a 12-month development period with quarterly milestones that Bass Pro must meet.
This allows the company to finish planning and gathering all necessary permits and approvals before signing a long-term lease on the building. During the next year, Bass Pro will make monthly payments of $35,000 and pay a $500,000 penalty if the company chooses to pull out of the agreement.
And after expressing concerns last week that a bad economy and legislative delays could jeopardize Bass Pro's enthusiasm in the project, Lipscomb was more optimistic on Monday.
"They expressed some concerns, of course, but now I'm going back to talk to them again and make sure they understand that there has been some positive movement -- finally," Lipscomb said.
Yet Commission Chairwoman Deidre Malone, who supports the deal, said she was concerned that all the delays could pose a threat.
"I am concerned, quite frankly, that it took us so long on the county side, and that it may appear to Bass Pro that we are not serious about them being a tenant," she said.
Many of the other commissioners who voted for the agreement -- Joyce Avery, George Flinn, Mike Carpenter, J.W. Gibson, Henri Brooks, James Harvey, Sidney Chism and Joe Ford -- said Bass Pro should get a chance to make this work, even if some remained hesitant about the project.
Flinn rejected the deal last week, but changed his vote Monday, saying the commission ought to see if Bass Pro is serious about this project.
Commissioner David Lillard recused himself because his law firm represents a church interested in redeveloping the arena.
Those who opposed the deal -- Mike Ritz, Steve Mulroy and Wyatt Bunker -- repeated the concerns they've expressed for months about the terms of the deal and the way negotiations were handled.
Funding is another repeated concern because the $100 million project calls for about $30 million in local funding that would come from a mix of federal, state and local sources. Lipscomb has assured commissioners that no general fund dollars will be used, but commissioners are still leery about making a $15 million commitment.
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