AteUp
07-03-2006, 05:11 AM
http://www.whas11.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8IK9DDO0.html
Small towns in bidding war for outdoor retailers
07/03/2006
By ROGER ALFORD / Associated Press
A hook and worm won't do. To land one of the prized sporting goods stores going up across the country, some communities are turning to power bait.
They're using tax breaks, free land, even grants in the high stakes competition to lure in national chains that deal in fishing tackle, hunting equipment and just about any other imaginable kind of outdoor merchandise.
The southern Kentucky town of Franklin, population 8,000, is trying to convince Nebraska-based Cabela's to open one of its gargantuan stores just off Interstate 65. People here believe such a store would be a retail cornerstone that would help every business in town by pulling in customers from Louisville and Nashville, Tenn., and beyond.
"What it's going to stimulate for us is the tourism dollar, which will help our local businesses, the mom and pop stores, the restaurants, the hobby shops, the antique stores," Mayor Jim Brown said. "We hope to lure travelers off the interstate and attract them downtown, because people who travel have time and money to spend."
Brown said the sporting goods stores are regional draws, making the towns where they're located tourist destinations of sorts.
In Indiana, the Economic Development Council and the Department of Transportation have agreed to provide about $9 million for construction of a road and utilities to a site in Hammond for Cabela's and $2.5 million in Portage for infrastructure improvements for a Bass Pro Shops store.
And in West Virginia, state officials awarded Cabela's a $35 million grant and $80 million in bonds to get a store and a distribution center in Wheeling.
However, political leaders in Kentucky are divided on whether those kinds of incentives, traditionally reserved for industrial recruits, should be offered to retailers. Faced with that issue earlier this year, lawmakers were unable to agree on a measure that would have allowed the state to provide tax incentives to Cabela's.
Without incentives, Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson said he doesn't think Franklin has a shot at one of the stores.
"There are too many other places that will roll out the red carpet, and lay everything at their feet," Henderson said. "It's unrealistic to believe that they're going to locate somewhere that doesn't offer incentives."
Kentucky isn't the only state with reservations. In Idaho, legislators rejected a bill earlier this year that would have given Cabela's tax incentives to build a store in the Post Falls area.
When Kentucky lawmakers convene in January, Henderson said local officials will again push for tax incentives that he said could amount to "tens of millions of dollars" over the next decade.
"I only hope that the folks at Cabela's will wait long enough to see that there is a commitment from our region," he said.
Brown said he was disappointed the state didn't sweeten the deal during a special legislative session that ended last week. Lawmakers from the Franklin area were unable to get the matter included on the agenda.
The huge sporting goods stores, typically built in small towns alongside busy interstate highways, have aisle after aisle of merchandise for all manner of outdoor activities, but they also are filled with other attractions, like aquariums filled with native fish, museum-quality animal displays, waterfalls, rock-climbing exhibits, archery ranges.
Brown contends such a store would make Franklin as much a tourist destination as the nearby Mammoth Cave National Park.
"It seems to me to be a no-brainer for the commonwealth," he said. "If you drive three to four hours to get here, you're going to look around elsewhere. People would visit Mammoth Cave, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. We see it as being nothing but a great thing for the entire state."
The National Sporting Goods Association in Connecticut said sales of hunting equipment alone has skyrocketed, up 8 percent between 2004 and 2005 to $2.8 billion. Sales of hunting footwear increased by 21 percent. Tennis equipment rose 5 percent over the period. Archery sales increased by 4 percent. Camping by 3 percent and fishing tackle by 2 percent. Sales of hunting rifles increased by 16.5 percent.
The popularity of the stores among outdoor enthusiasts rivals that of home improvement centers for handymen, and has spawned dozens of retail businesses, from national chains to individually owned shops.
James Powell, spokesman for Cabela's in Sidney, Neb., said his company gets hundreds of unsolicited calls each year from cities across the country that want sporting goods stores. He said the company typically chooses sites on major highways, usually within a few hours of large cities.
Cabela's reported a 15.5 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of this year, reaching a record $404.8 million, up from $350.6 million over the same period last year. The company cited "rapid growth" of retail sales as one of the primary factors for the revenue growth.
The company routinely negotiates for economic incentives from local and state governments before opening new stores, Powell said.
Peter Devin, organizer of a trade show for Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah, said growth in the sporting goods industry mirrors growth in outdoor recreation. For example, he said, private and public campgrounds across the country are doing record business, and lakes are crowded with fishermen and boaters using the latest rods and reels, jet skis, bass boats, even swimsuits, that the sporting goods retailers have to offer.
"There's no question that people like to hang out in these stores," Devin said. "You just don't want to leave."
Small towns in bidding war for outdoor retailers
07/03/2006
By ROGER ALFORD / Associated Press
A hook and worm won't do. To land one of the prized sporting goods stores going up across the country, some communities are turning to power bait.
They're using tax breaks, free land, even grants in the high stakes competition to lure in national chains that deal in fishing tackle, hunting equipment and just about any other imaginable kind of outdoor merchandise.
The southern Kentucky town of Franklin, population 8,000, is trying to convince Nebraska-based Cabela's to open one of its gargantuan stores just off Interstate 65. People here believe such a store would be a retail cornerstone that would help every business in town by pulling in customers from Louisville and Nashville, Tenn., and beyond.
"What it's going to stimulate for us is the tourism dollar, which will help our local businesses, the mom and pop stores, the restaurants, the hobby shops, the antique stores," Mayor Jim Brown said. "We hope to lure travelers off the interstate and attract them downtown, because people who travel have time and money to spend."
Brown said the sporting goods stores are regional draws, making the towns where they're located tourist destinations of sorts.
In Indiana, the Economic Development Council and the Department of Transportation have agreed to provide about $9 million for construction of a road and utilities to a site in Hammond for Cabela's and $2.5 million in Portage for infrastructure improvements for a Bass Pro Shops store.
And in West Virginia, state officials awarded Cabela's a $35 million grant and $80 million in bonds to get a store and a distribution center in Wheeling.
However, political leaders in Kentucky are divided on whether those kinds of incentives, traditionally reserved for industrial recruits, should be offered to retailers. Faced with that issue earlier this year, lawmakers were unable to agree on a measure that would have allowed the state to provide tax incentives to Cabela's.
Without incentives, Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson said he doesn't think Franklin has a shot at one of the stores.
"There are too many other places that will roll out the red carpet, and lay everything at their feet," Henderson said. "It's unrealistic to believe that they're going to locate somewhere that doesn't offer incentives."
Kentucky isn't the only state with reservations. In Idaho, legislators rejected a bill earlier this year that would have given Cabela's tax incentives to build a store in the Post Falls area.
When Kentucky lawmakers convene in January, Henderson said local officials will again push for tax incentives that he said could amount to "tens of millions of dollars" over the next decade.
"I only hope that the folks at Cabela's will wait long enough to see that there is a commitment from our region," he said.
Brown said he was disappointed the state didn't sweeten the deal during a special legislative session that ended last week. Lawmakers from the Franklin area were unable to get the matter included on the agenda.
The huge sporting goods stores, typically built in small towns alongside busy interstate highways, have aisle after aisle of merchandise for all manner of outdoor activities, but they also are filled with other attractions, like aquariums filled with native fish, museum-quality animal displays, waterfalls, rock-climbing exhibits, archery ranges.
Brown contends such a store would make Franklin as much a tourist destination as the nearby Mammoth Cave National Park.
"It seems to me to be a no-brainer for the commonwealth," he said. "If you drive three to four hours to get here, you're going to look around elsewhere. People would visit Mammoth Cave, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. We see it as being nothing but a great thing for the entire state."
The National Sporting Goods Association in Connecticut said sales of hunting equipment alone has skyrocketed, up 8 percent between 2004 and 2005 to $2.8 billion. Sales of hunting footwear increased by 21 percent. Tennis equipment rose 5 percent over the period. Archery sales increased by 4 percent. Camping by 3 percent and fishing tackle by 2 percent. Sales of hunting rifles increased by 16.5 percent.
The popularity of the stores among outdoor enthusiasts rivals that of home improvement centers for handymen, and has spawned dozens of retail businesses, from national chains to individually owned shops.
James Powell, spokesman for Cabela's in Sidney, Neb., said his company gets hundreds of unsolicited calls each year from cities across the country that want sporting goods stores. He said the company typically chooses sites on major highways, usually within a few hours of large cities.
Cabela's reported a 15.5 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of this year, reaching a record $404.8 million, up from $350.6 million over the same period last year. The company cited "rapid growth" of retail sales as one of the primary factors for the revenue growth.
The company routinely negotiates for economic incentives from local and state governments before opening new stores, Powell said.
Peter Devin, organizer of a trade show for Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah, said growth in the sporting goods industry mirrors growth in outdoor recreation. For example, he said, private and public campgrounds across the country are doing record business, and lakes are crowded with fishermen and boaters using the latest rods and reels, jet skis, bass boats, even swimsuits, that the sporting goods retailers have to offer.
"There's no question that people like to hang out in these stores," Devin said. "You just don't want to leave."