Bass Pro Shops is pleased to announce the grand opening of a new store, set to open on November 20. The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Colorado Springs will feature something for anyone who takes joy in being in the outdoors.

Colorado is famous for its vivid landscape of mountains, forests, plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers and desert lands.  It’s a veritable smorgasbord of adventures and opportunities for nature lovers of all kinds.  The new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Colorado Springs is a tribute to Colorado’s rugged beauty and abundant wildlife. The store, which will feature an Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill, will open Wednesday, Nov. 20, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony that begins at 6 p.m.   

The 120,000-square-foot Colorado Springs Bass Pro Shops, located at 13012 Bass Pro Drive,  offers something for everyone who enjoys the outdoors, whether it’s camping, fishing, hunting, boating, and more.  It will outfit the area’s many outdoor sportsmen and women, in addition to the five million people who visit Colorado to enjoy the state’s natural resources. 

The store’s imagery, murals, and displays reflect the region’s geography and wildlife populations.  From mountain vistas and sparkling waterfalls to aspen forests and rushing trout streams; high plains and arid mesas to rich farmland and lakes and marshes; from deer and elk, bighorn sheep and bison, bear and bobcats, turkey and ducks—all find their place inside the store.

Bass Pro Shops – Store, Museum, Art Gallery, Entertainment and More
Bass Pro Shops’ uniquely designed, award-winning stores are often considered to be part museum, art gallery, antique store and aquarium, and centers for conservation education and fun. They also offer the area’s largest selection of high-quality outdoor gear as well as a staff of dedicated professionals who promote the outdoor lifestyle and live it as well.  In fact, Bass Pro Shops has been voted best in delivering service excellence two years in a row by J.D. Power and Associates.

Using many area artifacts, antiques, period pictures, state record wildlife mounts and memorabilia, the store becomes a living museum of the region and its hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor legacies. 

The Colorado Springs Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World will feature the popular Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill. This nautical-themed entity located within the store features a unique atmosphere and design geared for family fun and dining. Twelve lanes will offer customers the chance to feel like they’re bowling ‘in the ocean.’ Casual family dining will be available in the Grill where customers can select from a menu featuring a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and burgers. To see the popular Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill, visit this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMxwQuaz1w&feature=youtu.be

Learn About Bass Pro Shops Dedication to Conservation
Since the beginning, Bass Pro Shops’ Founder Johnny Morris has been dedicated to inspiring people, especially youth and families, to love, enjoy and conserve the great outdoors. That commitment, demonstrated over the course of several decades, is a big reason why Bass Pro Shops is known as the outdoor industry’s corporate conservation leader. Bass Pro Shops’ has partnered with and supports the efforts of many conservation organizations that work to conserve and manage the nation’s natural resources. The company’s key conservation initiatives include fish and wildlife habitat improvements, conservation and outdoor skills education, improving water quality and quality of our lakes and springs, and conservation advocacy.

The Conservation Partner Wall, which is located near the checkouts at the Colorado Springs Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, reflects that commitment to conservation with a display showcasing the logos of national conservation groups that Bass Pro Shops partners with. 

“The people of our company believe very strongly that the future of our industry, the sports we serve, and the sports we personally enjoy are absolutely more dependent upon our conservation efforts and how we manage our natural resources than anything else,” said Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris.  “It is far more important than any catalog we mail, any new store we open, or any new product our vendor creates.” 

Decorating With Nature in Mind
Hand-painted murals wrap the store’s interior and depict familiar scenes of the region.  One gets the sense of traveling through Colorado’s landscape as the murals transport the viewer through a series of panoramic vistas—all beautifully replicated with the stroke of an artist’s brush. Through the use of special lighting techniques, the murals take on a living, breathing quality.

The lobby, which is designed to resemble a western hunting lodge’s trophy room, features a mural depicting the Pikes Peak area.  A balcony, extending all around the lobby, displays trophy wildlife mounts.   A fireplace, constructed of massive boulders and large, stacked rock goes from floor to ceiling and boasts a sculptured metal grill with natural elk sheds.  A handcrafted chandelier made from natural elk sheds and moose paddles hangs from the ceiling.

Other murals and dioramas throughout the store include:
• A herd of bison, pursued by a pack of wolves, thunder across the plains over the greeter’s desk.
• A wall in the camping department shows an exquisite scene of the red rock formations found in the Garden of the Gods.
• Fall-flecked aspens in a mural in the hunting department highlights deer, pheasants and turkey.
• In ladies’ apparel, a moose stands near a lake where Canada geese are taking flight.
• A beaver works on his dam in the gift department.
• A diorama of a campsite complete with bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes and an Arctic Cat® ATV extends 20 feet in the air near the Tracker Marine department.

The murals are unique in the fact that what starts out many times as a simple painting extends  into an actual fish or wildlife mount or some other property creating a 3-D effect.  Vintage photos and antique gear complete the scene and highlight the area’s original sportsmen and women.                        

A 27,000-gallon freshwater aquarium is a focal point of the store and features a 3-D diorama and mural that displays a mountainscape, reminiscent of Seven Falls, with bighorn sheep, marmot, grizzly bear and a mountain lioness and her two cubs.  The aquarium will be stocked with more than 150 fish native to the area such as striped bass, black/white crappie, lake sturgeon, rainbow trout, freshwater drum, northern pike, walleye and channel catfish.

Wildlife Exhibits Showcase Colorado Species
Museum quality wildlife exhibits and dioramas are seen throughout the store.  At any moment visitors could expect to come upon a herd of bighorn sheep picking their way through a rocky outcropping, bear emerging from a stand of trees, beaver working on a dam or bison grazing on the plains.

Mallard, northern pintail, and green-winged teal in addition to hawks, turkey and vultures—all are scattered throughout the exhibits and imagery of the store.

Bass Pro Shops’ dedication to detail is evident wherever visitors look as artisans work to create a visual style unique to that store, including handcrafted ornate metal fire screen doors, iron railings, sconces and more.  

The Merchandise Matches Local Shoppers’ Needs
But the attention to detail doesn’t stop with store design and imagery elements.  The same consideration is given to merchandise selection.  Visitors will have the area’s largest array of freshwater rods, reels and fishing accessories to choose from – all specially selected for the area.

The White River Fly Shop, featuring antique and collectible fly fishing memorabilia, has a vast selection of the latest in fly fishing gear.  Experts will continue the art of hand-tying flies on site and assist customers in making the perfect selection.

In the hunting department, customers will find an equally impressive array of hunting clothing and gear while the archery department offers a bow set-up shop and a 20-yard archery range.

More than a hunting and fishing store, visitors also will find items perfect for camping, hiking, outdoor cooking, bird watching or whatever their outdoor pleasures may be. A gift and nature center offers a variety of items such as:

• Artwork
• Lamps
• Bird feeders
• Furniture
• Home decorating items
• Gifts for the holidays
• Cooking accessories such as cookbooks, spices, grills, and jerky making items.

A wide selection of men’s and women’s footwear and apparel, featuring popular brands including Columbia, North Face, Bob Timberlake, and RedHead, are also available.

The marine and boat center displays a full range of boats from Tracker Marine, the world’s largest manufacturer of fishing boats.  From big water boats to small fishing boats, canoeing and even kayaking, customers will find exactly what they need to have fun on the water with selections from Tracker, Nitro, Tahoe, Sun Tracker, Mako, Ascend and more.  An on-site, state-of-the-art boat service center with three service bays also will be available for customers’ convenience for boat rigging as well as a full-time master service technician. In addition, Bass Pro Shops is the nation’s leading Arctic Cat® dealer. 

Bass Pro Shops Sportsman’s Center has hired 400 associates from the Colorado Springs area. In addition, the store will offer free outdoor skills workshops throughout the year for adults, kids and families that will help maximize outdoor fun by teaching new skills and improving existing ones.

A special Evening for Conservation to help benefit area conservation groups will take place the night before the official grand opening. This exciting, celebrity-packed event is free and open to the public. Information regarding this event will be available soon.  For more information regarding the Colorado Springs Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World visit http://www.basspro.com/coloradosprings/.  For general video about Bass Pro Shops visit http://youtu.be/Nib4BEQl2-k

About Bass Pro Shops®
Bass Pro Shops®, which specializes in outdoor fun, operates 81 retail stores and Tracker Marine Centers across America and Canada that are visited by more than 116 million people every year. Bass Pro Shops’ stores, many of which feature restaurants, offer hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor gear while their catalogs and website serve shoppers throughout the world. The company’s Tracker Marine Group® (http://www.trackermarine.com), which has produced the number one selling brand of fishing boats for more than 35 years, manufactures and sells a variety of boats for fishing and cruising. Family fun is on tap at Bass Pro Shops’ resort Big Cedar Lodge® (http://www.bigcedar.com), voted number six by Travel + Leisure Magazine as World’s Best Hotels for Families. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com.  To request a free catalog, call 1-800-BASS PRO.  Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bassproshops.

Contact:  Katie Mitchell, Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Marine, Communications Manager (417) 873-5618