Bass Pro Opens On D-Day

By Margie Anderson

The new Bass Pro Shop in Mesa will officially open its doors for a preview celebration on Wednesday, June 6 from 6 to 9 p.m.  The preview celebration – “Evening For Conservation” — is a fundraising event and ribbon-cutting ceremony that is free and is open to the public. 

For every dollar that is spent during this Evening for Conservation, fifty cents will be donated to the “More Fish” campaign of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which works to save fish and their habitat.  Local conservation groups will be selling food and drinks courtesy of Johnsonville and Coca-Cola, and some may hold raffles. 

Also on hand will be a long list of celebrities, including Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin, Olympic medalist Jennie Finch, Woo Daves, Stacey King and Chris Daves (national Bass Pro Shops team members), and “Mr. Crappie” Wally Marshall. The First Lady of Hunting Brenda Valentine will also be there. 

These hunting and fishing celebrities will be signing autographs for free, so anglers will want to bring a hat or favorite fishing shirt along.  Miss Arizona USA 2007 Courtney Barnas and Miss Arizona Teen USA 2007 Tiffany Martin will also be there. 

The Grand Opening celebration begins Thursday, June 7 at 8 a.m.  Special prices on gear throughout the store, more celebrities, and great giveaways will make the Grand Opening well worth checking out. 

There will be a big displays by manufacturers, and reps will be on hand to talk to you.  You can also talk to hunting, fishing, and dog-training experts.

If you’ve never been inside a Bass Pro Shop store, you’re in for a real treat.  You already know that there will be a tremendous amount of hunting, fishing, and outdoor gear (even golf!), but you may not expect some of the other features you’ll find inside.

 There’s a shooting gallery for kids where lasers trigger animated targets.  A couple of race cars let you experience NASCAR in virtual reality, and there is an indoor climbing wall.

The Bass Pro Shop in Mesa even has an indoor archery range and indoor pistol range.  There are fresh- and salt-water tanks stocked with a variety of species, a trout stream, restaurant, and a fudgery. 

Bass Pro has hired some of the most knowledgeable sportsmen in the area to staff the Mesa store, so no matter which department you visit, you can be sure you’ll get good advice.

The new shop is just south of the 202 and west of the 101 on Dobson.