Hanover’s Perspective
Bass Pro Open in Hanover County
Bass Pro Shops, recently voted the #1 outdoor retailer in America by Sporting Goods Business Magazine, celebrated its 52nd store’s Grand Opening on October 2nd, 2008. The new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is the signature tenant for the 186-acre Winding Brook development project located at the intersection of I-95 and Lewistown Road in Hanover County .
The Grand Opening celebration was preceded by a special Evening for Conservation event that was held the evening of October 1st , and the celebration was open to the public. Area conservation groups partnering with Bass Pro Shops set up display booths to educate customers on their efforts and projects with a portion of the night’s sales benefiting the National Fish Initiative’s “More Fish” campaign.
Grand Opening festivities included special exhibits, celebrity guests, store-wide savings and fantastic giveaways. Bassmaster Classic champ Woo Daves and Bass Pro Shops Pro Staffer Chris Daves, along with legendary fly fishing icon Lefty Kreh were in attendence to share some of fly fishing secrets.
Fly fishing expert and author Beau Beasley and renowned wildlife artist and sculptor Tim Wolfe were also part of the festivities.
Special displays included the Bass Pro Shops #1 NASCAR car, the Bass Pro Shops #20 Sprint car and the awesome King of Bucks Trailer featuring 25 world record whitetail deer mounts.
The store offers 150,000 square feet of outdoor excitement including the area’s largest selection of quality gear for fishing, hunting, camping, boating and marine. Much more than a hunting and fishing store, however, Bass Pro Shops also offers equipment for hiking, backpacking, outdoor cooking and more. Shoppers will find outdoor apparel for men, women and children, along with a fine selection of outdoor, casual and athletic footwear. A gift and nature center serves up a wide variety of outdoor-related items from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture.
Bass Pro Shops stores are much more than just a retail store. The sights and sounds of the outdoors are brought indoors through museum-quality wildlife dioramas, huge murals and chandeliers depicting outdoor scenes, massive log and rock work, waterfalls, and other water features, and aquariums stocked with native fish species. The attention to the finest detail from wildlife tracks in the concrete, to wildlife carvings on logs and rafters is what helps add to the uniqueness of a Bass Pro Shops store.
A local theme can be felt throughout all Bass Pro Shops stores with use of artifacts and memorabilia from the area as well as historic photos of local outdoor enthusiast that pay tribute to the great outdoor heritage of the region. The Hanover store contains a realistic model of Virginia ’s famous Natural Bridge , complete with George Washington’s initials carved in the landmark . Laser galleries, climbing walls, archery ranges, NASCAR shops and more add to the family entertainment.
Bass Pro Shops will offer free Outdoor Skills Workshops classes on a regular basis and will include topics like outdoor cooking, nature photography, fly fishing, camping, archery and more. Widely recognized for their efforts in conservation and outdoor education, Bass Pro Shops has received more conservation awards than any other outdoors retailer.
About Bass Pro Shops
A major catalog and Internet retailer, Bass Pro Shops, headquartered in Springfield , MO , currently has 51 retail locations across the United States and Canada . The stores attract more than 100 million visitors a year. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com. Request a free catalog by calling 1-800-BASS PRO.