Part of the bargain
Bass Pro’s jumbo signs test boundaries of Downtown rules
It’s hardly exaggerating to say a leaping largemouth bass logo on The Pyramid could swallow up the next four largest signs on Downtown buildings.
At 90 by 66 feet, Bass Pro Shops’ familiar oval would be two to three times the size of Independent Bank’s “i bank” atop One Commerce Square or Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital’s heart sign in the Medical Center.
Older signs at The Peabody and First Tennessee Bank are even punier in comparison.
The Peabody couldn’t provide measurements for its historic rooftop signs, but the larger of two variations looks to be about 50 feet long by 25 feet high. First Tennessee’s signs atop 165 Madison are 69 feet long by 16 feet tall, a bank spokeswoman said.
The sheer size of Bass Pro Shops’ proposed signs threatens to steer Downtown sign rules into uncharted waters when the company seeks approval of exterior changes to The Pyramid from a design review board Wednesday.
While the company’s sign proposals have generated strong reaction, the city of Memphis appears to be getting exactly what it bargained for.
A drawing of an identical sign appears in the lease agreement that was negotiated by the Wharton administration and approved in 2010 by the City Council.
The exhibit calls for a 66-foot, 6-inch tall logo sign and says: “Bass Pro Shops illuminated sign at all 4 sides.”
The lease agreement gives Bass Pro authority to install the signs, “subject to approval and compliance with applicable laws” and says the city administration will “support and assist Bass Pro’s efforts to obtain any approvals or variances needed with respect to Bass Pro’s building signage ... .”
Bass Pro officials, citing a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement with the city, declined to comment.
The case is scheduled to be considered in a Downtown Memphis Commission design review board meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday at 114 N. Main. The company will be seeking approval under both the city Downtown sign code and the commission’s design guidelines.
A staff analysis found the Bass Pro sign package contains at least 35 signs that exceed a 30-squarefoot maximum in the riverfront area.
The staff report refers to Bass Pro as “a unique, catalytic project that warrants exceptional consideration by the DRB,” while also floating suggestions for downsizing or limiting the signs.
“The four upper wall signs could be reduced in size and still be highly visible for miles,” the report says. Leaving off the north-facing sign “could help address potential concerns about light pollution, glare and the visual impact of the signs on nearby residential uses in Uptown, Pinch District and Harbor Town,” it adds.
Bass Pro’s internally illuminated oval wall sign would measure 4,169 square feet, but the “sign box,” the rectangle that holds the sign, would cover 5,490 square feet.
The “i bank” sign box covers 1,775 square feet, and Le Bonheur’s name and logo cover about 1,728 square feet. Those signs were approved by the Downtown design review board within the past three years.
By comparison, American flags that fly above car dealerships in eastern Shelby County measure 30 feet by 60 feet, or 1,800 square feet, the largest non-custom flags that are commercially available, said Dennis Criscuolo, coowner of flagcenter.com.
Bass Pro’s architectural renderings show an American flag on top of the 320-foot-tall structure but don’t specify the size. Criscuolo said he submitted a bid to provide a flagpole but he didn’t hear back.