Bass Pro Shops angling for Morgantown location

Bass Pro Shops plans to open one of its big hunting and fishing stores in Morgantown, W. Va.

The Missouri retailer gave no definite timetable for when work would begin or be completed, but outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to a first- of- its- kind, fivestory boat display tower, among other features of the store.

The store will be located along Interstate 79 at the entrance of the 1,000- acre WestRidge Crossing mixed- use development in Morgantown. The store is expected to employ more than 100 workers.

“As a lifelong outdoorsman and fisherman myself, I can tell you that having a Bass Pro Shops store at the new WestRidge development by Morgantown will be a total game- changer for our state,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said in a prepared statement.

In West Virginia, Bass Pro also has locations in Charleston and Wheeling.

In addition to selling hunting, fishing and camping equipment, the store is expected to host events aimed at connecting new audiences to the outdoors, such as an annual event that introduces families to fishing catch- and- release ponds, casting games and free fishing seminars.

Currently, the only Bass Pro in Pennsylvania is located in Harrisburg.

More than a decade ago, the company had been expected to put a 250,000- square- foot store in Washington County on a parcel off Interstate 79 next to the Tanger Factory Outlet Center across from The Meadows Racetrack and Casino. Those plans did not materialize.

Three years ago, Bass Pro Shops bought Cabela’s Inc. in a $ 5.5 billion deal that united two of America’s largest outdoor retailers.