Cabela's Incorporated expects to open Hoffman Estates retail showroom as early as summer of 2007. The Hoffman Estates retail store would be Cabela's first store in Chicago and first in the state of Illinois.
The new retail store would be located within the Prairie Stone Business Park at I-90 and Route 59, twenty minutes from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Prairie Stone, which also serves as the headquarters for Sears Holdings Corp., is a 780-acre, master-planned business park surrounded by a forest preserve that captures the beauty of the surrounding Midwestern landscape.
“Cabela's could not have picked a better location. Hoffman Estates and Cabela's are a perfect fit, especially considering the beautiful natural environment of Prairie Stone Business Park and the Village's seven square miles of Cook County forest preserves,” said Hoffman Estates Mayor William D. McLeod. “We are happy to welcome Cabela's to the Hoffman Estates community. When you put Cabela's next to the 11,000-seat Sears Centre Arena and the proposed water park and hotel, the Village is creating a tourist retail and entertainment destination for northern Illinois.”
The Hoffman Estates Cabela's store would be built in Cabela's trademark style that evokes the feeling of the outdoors. Cabela's stores are known as top-notch educational and entertainment attractions, mixing a decor of museum-quality animal displays with colorful dioramas, huge aquariums stocked with native fish and a centerpiece indoor mountain displaying trophy animals interacting in realistic re-creations of their natural habitats.
To operate this new store, Cabela's expects to employ as many as 400 people from the surrounding area. They will join the Cabela's family of employees who are famous for delivering excellent customer service, living the outdoor lifestyle and possessing an intimate knowledge of outdoor gear. Product offerings would include hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating and wildlife watching gear, as well as outdoor clothing and outdoors-styled gifts and furnishings.
“I am very proud to announce this new store location and feel fortunate that we have an opportunity to add hundreds of new Illinois employees to the Cabela's family,” said Cabela's CEO Dennis Highby. “The Prairie Stone development will bring top-notch shopping, dining and entertainment to Illinois, and the Cabela's store anchoring the development will serve as a genuine tourism draw and source of pride for many years to come.”
Cabela's currently has 14 retail locations nationwide. The newest, a 185,000-square-foot store in Rogers, Minn., opened Oct. 14, 2005. Cabela's also has announced plans to open stores in La Vista, Neb., Gonzales, La., Glendale, Ariz., and Richfield, Wis., in 2006; and Reno, Nev., Wheat Ridge, Colo., East Rutherford, N.J., and East Hartford, Conn., in 2007.
Plans for the Hoffman Estates Cabela's store have been carefully developed over a two-year period.
“In July of 2003, we sent a letter to Cabela's encouraging them to come and look at some of the tollway frontage in Hoffman Estates,” said Jim Norris, Village Manager. “It is gratifying to see all the hard work and cooperation that has occurred since then. Cabela's is a phenomenal retailer and their location in the Village magnifies the Village's efforts to create an entertainment and tourist destination in Prairie Stone.”
Extraordinary in design and showcasing thousands of products from Cabela's world-famous catalog, the stores are known as shopping and tourism destinations, drawing customers not only from the local area, but also from hundreds of miles away. Many traveling sportsmen and women are also attracted by the familiar Cabela's script logo and the company's world-famous reputation for quality merchandise, value and extraordinary customer service.
“Words cannot really describe the shopping experience at a Cabela's store,” said Gary Skoog, Economic Development Director for Hoffman Estates. “For a keyhole perspective, I would suggest people visit Cabela's website at www.cabelas.com and click on their video or photo tour of a store to get an idea of what will be coming to Hoffman Estates.”
