Bass Pro Shops will open the doors at its tenth store in Florida July 29 in Brandon/Tampa.
Like all Bass Pro Shops, the 130,000-square-foot Brandon/Tampa Outdoor World features customized design and inventory that salutes the natural beauty of the region and rich traditions of fishing, boating, camping, hunting and hiking.
The lobby is designed to resemble an old Florida trophy room, and features native fish and wildlife mounts from Florida and species from other areas of North America. The King of Bucks display, a collection of world record white-tailed deer mounts, will include the James Stovall buck that was taken in Green Swamp not far from Tampa.
The 11,000-gallon freshwater aquarium is constructed to look like a sinkhole with water pouring into it and is surrounded by various wildlife mounts and exhibits including wild boar, black bear, and white-tailed deer. A mural near the aquarium portrays a scene of white-tailed deer jumping through the Hillsborough River.
The aquarium will be stocked with approximately 100 fish native to the area such as largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, black crappie, bowfin, longnose gar, Florida gar, bluegill, redear sunfish, warmouth, chain pickerel, and channel catfish. The store will also house an 8,000square-foot Islamorada Fish Company restaurant with a 2,000-gallon saltwater aquarium filled with colorful and exotic Pacific reef fish.
Islamorada Fish Company began in 1948 as a marina snack bar in the Florida Keys offering the freshest fish possible at a reasonable price. Since then, Islamorada Fish Company restaurants have opened in several Bass Pro Shops stores.
But the attention to detail doesn't stop with store design and imagery elements. The same consideration is given to merchandise selection. The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store will offer customers an amazing assortment of high-quality apparel and gear featuring top industry brands such as RedHead, Ascend, Oculus, Columbia, Browning, Offshore Angler, Penn, Under Armour, and hundreds more.
Visitors will have the area's largest array of freshwater and saltwater rods, reels and fishing accessories to choose from – all specially selected for the area. The White River Fly Shop will offer a vast selection of the latest in fly fishing gear.
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.
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.
The store's 9,800-square-foot boat showroom will display a full range of boats from Tracker Marine, the world's largest manufacturer of fishing boats. From Mako saltwater boats, to Nitro high performance fishing boats, Sun Tracker and Regency pontoon boats, Tahoe pleasure boats, and Tracker fishing boats, canoeing and even kayaking, customers will find exactly what they need. Plus, four service bays will allow customers to get their boats rigged, serviced, and maintained right on the spot.
Bass Pro has hired 300-plus locals, including dozens of outdoor enthusiasts, to run the store and offer free outdoor skills workshops throughout the year.
