A group of Central Illinois banks has completed a $34 million financing packaging for a major retail-commercial development in Springfield that includes a Scheels superstore as its anchor. Some groundwork for the two-story, 203,000-square-foot Scheels has already begun at the site.
According to the State Journal Register in Springfield, the ten-bank consortium was led by Bank of Springfield, Midland States Bank of Effingham and a North Dakota bank used by Scheels Inc. In addition to store construction, the loan package covered the original purchase of the site and will help pay for road improvements and other services.
Scheels originally planned to begin construction in 2009 and to open this year, but delayed the project because of the economy. Scheels Corp. has begun a Web site countdown to the scheduled July 2, 2011 opening in Springfield.
The Springfield store will include 90 specialty shops. The height will be 80 feet at the store’s peak. Features inside will include a 65-foot indoor Ferris wheel and a 16,000-gallon aquarium.
A 277-acre town center eventually will occupy both sides of the extension’s south end at Interstate 72 with long-term plans calling for additional commercial and retail construction.
Scheels first All Sports Superstore opened in Grand Forks, ND in 1989. Today, Scheels is a 23-store operation with stores in 8 states including North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Nevada.
