Bass Pro Shops is coming

ATLANTIC CITY The Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Shops broke ground Tuesday on a four-acre site near Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino.

The 86,000-square-foot, $35 million sporting goods store will be part of the fourth and final phase of the Tanger Outlets' Walk complex. It is expected to open before the summer 2015. The shopping district opened in 2003 on property owned by the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

The megastore, to be located along Christopher Columbus Boulevard between Arctic and Atlantic Avenues, will be called the Best of Bass Pro Shops. It is expected to feature elaborate displays of gear for fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities, and become a destination attraction for the beleaguered resort, officials said.

Bass Pro Shops operates about 80 stores in the United States and Canada, including one near Harrisburg. The 41-year-old company is also slated to open a new store in Sayreville next year. The CRDA last year formed a public/private partnership with Bass Pro Shops and allocated $12.3 million in financing for the project, with an additional $11 million in tax abatements approved for over the next decade. - Jacqueline L. Urgo