Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 2/19/15. Construction on the new Cabela's in Ringgold, Ga., is progressing on Thursday, February 19, 2015.By the numbers
Bass Pro• Size: 85,000 square feet• Location: 638 Camp Jordan Parkway off Interstate 75 Exit 1• Subsidy: $6.4 million from city of East Ridge. The city gave $4 million toward Bass Pro’s construction, made $1.8 million in Camp Jordan Parkway improvements and spent $600,000 to pay off a piece of property formerly occupied by a city fire hall to help pave the way for Bass Pro.Cabela’s• Size: 72,000 square feet• Location: 350 Cobb Parkway next to Costco off the Cloud Springs Road Interstate 75 exit.• Subsidy: $1.5 million from the Catoosa County Development Authority in expectation the county would get that back in sales tax and property tax revenue over seven years.
Outdoor gear giant Bass Pro plans to snap up rival Cabela's in a $4.5 billion deal announced Monday.
Officials here hope the potential merger between the two big box outdoor stores won't result in the closure of either the Cabela's that opened in May of last year alongside Interstate 75 in Fort Oglethorpe or the Bass Pro that opened in July this year in East Ridge alongside Interstate 75 one exit north of Cabela's.
Both retailers got subsidies in anticipation of the tax revenue and jobs they'd generate: Catoosa County, Ga., spent $1.5 million on Cabela's site work, while the city of East Ridge invested substantially more - $6.4 million - in hopes that the new Bass Pro could help reverse the economic fortunes of the city just inside Tennessee's border.
East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert said he had heard from Bass Pro that his city's newly opened store won't close.
"I've already received assurances today our Bass Pro is safe," Lambert said. "We've been assured they're going to keep operating the way they have, and we look forward to having a great relationship and have them in our community for a long time to come."
Fort Oglethorpe Mayor Earl Gray thinks Cabela's will stay open as a store geared toward hunters, while Bass Pro would cater to anglers.
"They'd probably keep both of them open, I would think," Gray said.
Larry Armour, who developed the Fort Oglethorpe Cabela's store, agreed.
"I think that Bass Pro will become the fishing and boating store, and Cabela's will become the store for the hunting and guns and so forth," said Armour, who runs Armour Commercial Real Estate in Ooltewah. "I think it'll work well for both of them."
The Catoosa County Development Authority spent $1.5 million preparing the site for Cabela's with the expectation that the county would get that money back in sales tax and property tax revenue.
"The county's going to more than make its money back, even if Cabela's closes," Catoosa County Attorney Chad Young said. "Our agreement was that [developer Larry Armour] would guarantee us that the sales and property taxes generated from that entire site - which would be Cabela's and anything else that might come on the vacant land - over seven years it would pay us back $1.5 million, or the developer would pay us the difference."
"I don't know if we've quite gotten there yet," Young said. "But I'm not at all worried."
Bass Pro is paying Cabela's shareholders $65.50 cash per share, a 19 percent premium to Friday's closing price. The deal combines two companies known for their giant destination superstores.
It also creates uncertainty about jobs in Cabela's home state of Nebraska. The combined companies plan to keep some operations in Sidney and Lincoln, Neb., but it's not immediately clear how many jobs might be lost.
Cabela's employs about 2,000 people in the western Nebraska town of Sidney, which has about 7,000 residents. State Sen. Ken Schilz, who represents the area, said the news is concerning because of the duplication between the two companies' headquarters that will be eliminated.
"We'll just have to wait and see what Bass Pro does. I'm sure most folks in Sidney are pretty nervous this morning," Schilz said.
Activist investment firm Elliott Management began pushing for significant changes at Cabela's last fall. Elliott owns 7.4 percent of Cabela's shares and holds options to buy another 3.8 percent.
Bass Pro founder and CEO Johnny Morris said he hopes to continue growing the Cabela's brand alongside his privately held Springfield, M0.-based chain.
"The story of each of these companies could only have happened in America, made possible by our uniquely American free enterprise system," Morris said. "We have enormous admiration for Cabela's, its founders and outfitters, and its loyal base of customers."
Capital One will take over running Cabela's credit card unit as part of the deal, which is backed by $1.8 billion in financing from Goldman Sachs and another $600 million from private equity fund Pamplona Capital.
Cabela's was founded in 1961 when Dick Cabela started selling fishing flies through the mail from his kitchen table with his wife, Mary, and brother, Jim.
Bass Pro got its start in 1971 when Morris began selling high-quality fishing tackle in his dad's liquor store in Springfield, Mo.
Morris developed a following in the Ozarks region - its lakes and rich streams a haven for anglers - and created the Bass Pro Shop Catalog in 1974. He opened the first of his now 99 stores in Springfield seven years later.
Morris also introduced the Bass Tracker fishing boat in 1978 that was designed specifically for fishermen. That led to the creation of the White River Marine Group.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.face book.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.