BassPro opponent objects to incentives

FLORENCE -- One of Bass Pro Shops competitors is lobbying the city council not to give in to retail incentives.

An incentive package that could reach $20 million has been discussed for the outdoor retail chain Bass Pro to locate in Veterans Park.

Owners of Regency Square Mall and homegrown stores already have expressed displeasure about the city's consideration of the incentive package.

Ewald Consulting of Minneapolis, Minn., delivered a packet to the council in late November outlining a number reasons why retail incentives are unfair.

Ewald's client is also a Minneapolis company called Oppidan, which is the exclusive developer for Minneapolis-based Gander Mountain.

Gander Mountain is a Bass Pro competitor with more than 100 stores, most in the eastern Midwest, Mid-Atlantic states and Texas.

Becca Pryse, a spokeswoman for Ewald, said her firm is fighting retail incentives all across the country especially when it comes to Bass Pro and their other competitor, Cabela's.

Both Bass Pro and Cabela's depend on retail incentives to develop their retail stores. Cabela's has even listed the necessity of such incentives in its business plan.

Pryse said Gander Mountain never asks for retail incentives.

"We believe retail goes where people are going to shop and believe there shouldn't be any incentives for retail industry, particularly to develop retail stores," she said.

Mayor Bobby Irons said he is still awaiting plans from another developer so the city can analyze all the numbers.

Southeast Capital Investments of Anniston is putting together plans for retail establishments that could follow a Bass Pro Shops. The company already is investing in Florence through a development called Hickory Hill Plantation, which will be a residential neighborhood at the corner of Cox Creek Parkway and Cloverdale Road.

A study sanctioned by the Shoals Economic Development Authority at the request of Irons and conducted by three University of North Alabama economics professors revealed that losses on a $20 million incentive package would be approximately $12 million over a 20-year period.

Irons has downplayed that study, saying it did not take into account a developer such as Southeast Capital getting involved and attracting additional retail stores.

Veterans Park is being considered for the Bass Pro.

David Bronner, director for the Retirement Systems of Alabama, invested along with Shoals governments in the Shoals Marriott Hotel and Spa complex and two Robert Trent Jones golf courses. Bronner is pushing for Bass Pro and the incentive package.

The city and RSA must mutually agree on an attraction for Veterans Park.

Irons said the city is still waiting on the developer and wants to analyze the developer's proposal before deciding if it will be good for the city.

"We'll just have to do the best we can to make sure (the analysis) is objective and we have quality people helping us with the analysis," Irons said.

Ewald is planning to give a presentation to the council in late January or February.

Ewald cites a case study, legal hurdles and a number of other documents all pointing to retail incentives as a poor use of taxpayer money. In its package delivered to the city, it concludes: