Major retailer to the Pyramid?

[mandrws1]

IMO the city and county need to rethink the no-compete clause that it has with the Grizzlies. They obviously have caused more shows to leave the city instead of attracting shows with their strong arm tactics. So many shows and events have gone across state lines because of it. City and county government needs to get on the ball and stop being afraid to make decisions. Having a costly economic study about every little issue makes no sense and wastes so much time. Raze the Coliseum and the 10-20 events that it holds each year can move to the Pyramid. The Memphis Xplorers (Arena Football) have expressed an interest in the Pyramid, and all of the shows the have gone to the Desoto Civic Center will gladly come back to the city instead of the outskirts because more of the population is closer to downtown rather than Desoto County IMO. Build a parking garage to ease traffic and to gain an additional revenue stream. Wonders should stay and a major retail tennant can occupy the massive base of the arena.

[sleepy]

IMO the city and county need to rethink the no-compete clause that it has with the Grizzlies. They obviously have caused more shows to leave the city instead of attracting shows with their strong arm tactics. So many shows and events have gone across state lines because of it.

It's true that some concerts have gone to DeSoto County.

But the deal was struck basically because the city did not want to get stuck with the operating losses on the Forum. The Grizzlies ownership has stated that they would like to get rid of the exclusivity clause and the operating losses that come with it. The city won't go for that because it would cost several million dollars a year in tax money. I know the Gaylord Center's operating losses are borne by local government. That was the situation Memphis govt. wanted to avoid.

[mandrws1]

It's true that some concerts have gone to DeSoto County.

But the deal was struck basically because the city did not want to get stuck with the operating losses on the Forum. The Grizzlies ownership has stated that they would like to get rid of the exclusivity clause and the operating losses that come with it. The city won't go for that because it would cost several million dollars a year in tax money. I know the Gaylord Center's operating losses are borne by local government. That was the situation Memphis govt. wanted to avoid.

What you said is true, but I'm talking about redistributing the losses and maybe one day in the near future there won't be operating losses. The Coliseum is losing money. So is the Pyramid. If the Coliseum were razed and more events stayed in the city, the operating losses from the FedEx Forum would probably be pretty much the same as the losses that taxpayers are paying for both the Pyramid and the Coliseum. Although I love the fact that Memphis keeps so much history in older buildings and is now finding ways to re-use them, we can't keep everything. The Coliseum is paid for and has served its purpose for a long time, but the building is obsolete now and still hasn't been brought up to the Americans with Disabilities Act standards which would cost millions. The city and county need to think in economic terms and find better ways to achieve fiscal responsibility.

I just read this article....

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/busine...4153523,00.html

[sleepy]

^ Well, that article sounds good.

I'm old enough to remember when the Coliseum opened! I remember going to Memphis Wings hockey games (farm club of the Detroit Red Wings) with my dad.

I guess I'm a piece of Memphis history myself. Anything you want to know about the olden days, just ask.

[mandrws1]

I guess I'm a piece of Memphis history myself. Anything you want to know about the olden days, just ask.

You can count on that. I don't even know where to begin because as soon as I find some new info, something else about the history of the city catches my attention. The Shelby County room in the main library is amazing and filled with historical information and pictures. I visit whenever I find the time because one thing leads to another and by the time I look at my watch it will have been 5 or 6 hours! I have been taking pictures of all of the highrises along Poplar from Germantown to downtown. I'm almost finished and I think I'll post them this weekend.

[sleepy]

You can count on that. I don't even know where to begin because as soon as I find some new info, something else about the history of the city catches my attention. The Shelby County room in the main library is amazing and filled with historical information and pictures. I visit whenever I find the time because one thing leads to another and by the time I look at my watch it will have been 5 or 6 hours! I have been taking pictures of all of the highrises along Poplar from Germantown to downtown. I'm almost finished and I think I'll post them this weekend.

I'd like to see those pics.

I went to Richland Jr. High and remember going out to Germantown on a schoolbus for a football game in the 60's. I'm not sure if I-240 was built then, but I recall that Poplar, from the I-240 area into Germantown, was a 2 lane road.

Germantown Parkway was a 2 lane country road as recently as the early 80's. I also recall when the Paramount Theater in Eastgate Plaza opened up in the 60's. The Shoney's Big Boy there was a real draw for weekend cruising.

[ricky_the_great]

I'd like to see those pics.

I went to Richland Jr. High and remember going out to Germantown on a schoolbus for a football game in the 60's. I'm not sure if I-240 was built then, but I recall that Poplar, from the I-240 area into Germantown, was a 2 lane road.

Germantown Parkway was a 2 lane country road as recently as the early 80's. I also recall when the Paramount Theater in Eastgate Plaza opened up in the 60's. The Shoney's Big Boy there was a real draw for weekend cruising.

ya my family moved to memphis in 87 and they expanded gtown pwky in 88. i was 2. My brother went to Gtown High school, but by the time i went to high school i had to go to Cordova High. (class of 2004). so i guess im sort of a 'young-in' compared to some of you old farts j/k. but Ive seen Cordova area grow a ton

[ricky_the_great]

heres the commercial appeals take on the story

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/busine...4156833,00.html

Bass Pro, Pyramid have yet to hook up

By David Williams

Contact

October 14, 2005

For those trying to lure Bass Pro Shops to The Pyramid, these have been quiet weeks of waiting -- aside from fielding all those media queries about negotiations and a possible deal.

"There's actually been no substantive discussions with them for over a month," said Scott Ledbetter, chairman of the public-private committee studying the arena's future. "They suggested something to us and we suggested something to them. And we are apart."

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Ledbetter attributed the company's silence, though, to being busy opening other stores, not with an unhappiness over suggested terms. But he added, "They are not in a position, apparently, to communicate with us at this time what their position is. It could be full excitement. Or it could be, 'This is a stretch to make it work.' "

Larry Whiteley, Bass Pro manager of corporate public relations, said he spoke Thursday with an upper-management official about The Pyramid, because of frequent media queries. Whiteley reported that "we've done some preliminary visits, but nothing down and dirty and 'we're going to be there tomorrow' type thing."

He added, "We're considering locations all over the United States and Canada. A multitude."

Under terms that have been discussed, Ledbetter said, Bass Pro wouldn't pay property taxes and could receive federal tax credits. He said the sales taxes generated would be "far greater than property taxes ever would be ... so I don't consider that to be a big deal."

In return, Ledbetter said, "We're talking about being paid rent that would cover the debt service on $22 million."

Bass Pro, dubbed "the hottest store in retailing" recently by Time.com, is based in Springfield, Mo., where it has a 330,000-square-foot store with an indoor waterfall, aquariums and archery and pistol ranges.

Time's article on the "Bass Boom" said cities "from Buffalo, N.Y., to Broken Arrow, Okla., are throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at (Bass Pro and rival Cabela's) for the privilege of getting one of their megastores. The stores are so popular, they drive economic development."

Ledbetter agreed: "There are probably 50 cities that would like to get them, throwing incentives at them. That's happening all over the United States with Bass Pro."

Bass Pro, which attracts 75 million visitors annually, has 27 locations with six more planned before year's end. At least eight more are possible next year, Whiteley said.

"Now that developers and cities and states have recognized the fact that our type of stores really draw people to them (and) create new business and new jobs," Whiteley said, "they definitely want us there."

But the prospect of turning a shining part of the Memphis skyline into an outdoor store has its critics.

"It just doesn't seem to us suitable for what really is this incredible icon," said Jim Phillips, CEO of Memphis-based bioscience company Luminetx and a member of the group seeking to convert The Pyramid to an aquarium.

Phillips said the Aquariu- Memphis group hasn't received serious consideration from the committee: "We brought in as a partner the world's most renowned builder of aquariums (Peter Chermayeff of Boston). We developed a very strong business case and business plan. And we were afforded 20 minutes in a presentation about six months ago, and never heard back."

National consultants hired by the committee recommended seeking a major destination retailer, and pairing it with a tourist attraction. However, Ledbetter said early indications are that Bass Pro would seek the entire Pyramid.

"We didn't quarrel with that," he said, but added, "We're going to do all we can to accommodate some sort of entertainment venue" on the property.

Another local group proposes an indoor theme park, featuring major thrill rides and other attractions.

Marketing executive Greg Ericson, who leads the theme park effort, declined Thursday when asked to comment on a proposed Bass Pro in The Pyramid, saying he'd first want to see plans and drawings. "Although," he said, "we feel strongly that our project is the best idea for The Pyramid."

Asked if the theme park could be located outside a Pyramid Bass Pro Shop, Ericson said, "As of today, our concept only works inside The Pyramid."

Likewise, Phillips said AquariuMemphis is a Pyramid-only proposition.

-- David Williams: 529-2310

[Rural King]

I will be satisfied as long as the Pyramid finds a purpose and doesn't just sit there empty without a major tenant for some prolonged period of time.

[cdarr]

I also recall when the Paramount Theater in Eastgate Plaza opened up in the 60's. The Shoney's Big Boy there was a real draw for weekend cruising.

Ah, the Paramount...I saw Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark there as a kid. Must have eaten at that Shoney's dozens of times. I grew up about a mile from Eastgate (and just recently bought a house in the same neighborhood).

That shopping center used to have everything in it...a Woolco department store, Skaggs Drugs (with an old-fashioned soda fountain), Kroger, Julius Lewis, Morrisons Cafeteria, Baskin Robbins. I think the Radio Shack is the only tenant still there from my childhood.

[TennBear]

^ Well, that article sounds good.

I'm old enough to remember when the Coliseum opened! I remember going to Memphis Wings hockey games (farm club of the Detroit Red Wings) with my dad.

I guess I'm a piece of Memphis history myself. Anything you want to know about the olden days, just ask.

Sleepy;

I was never a real hockey fan, but I remember the Memphis South Stars, farm club for the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars). Do you know the dates when the various teams were in Memphis. I know that I went to see the South Stars.