The new Bass Pro Shops Outpost store in East Ridge is slated to open July 13, general manager Jarron Ritchie said at a ceremonial fish release at the almost 85,000-square-foot store on Tuesday.
On that day, the store will host a 6 p.m. public opening with celebrities and events, and donate 50 percent of sales to conservation. The following day, July 14, the new Bass Pro store will open bright and early at 8 a.m., its first full day of business.
Ritchie broke the news to a few gathered Tuesday near the just-finished 12,000-gallon freshwater fish tank inside the store.
The timeline for a mid-July opening is slightly behind original estimates for a June opening, but Ritchie said he is thrilled to open the doors within the next two months.
Officials with Wolftever Development, the local owners and developers of the Bass Pro and surrounding retail development at Exit 1, have said heavy and ongoing rains earlier this year slowed the completion of the new store.