Bass Pro Ribbon Cutting Tonight

The long-awaited Grand Opening of the Bass Pro Shops will be held Wednesday evening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. It’s billed as “An Evening For Conservation.”

Local dignitaries will be joined by Bass Pro officials and celebrities from the world of sports _ including Johnny Majors, Eric Ainge and Jimmy Houston _ Wednesday night at 6 p.m., officials said. The store will then open its doors for business after a 6:30 p.m. ribbon cutting.

The giant outdoor retailer will contribute a portion of its sales during the Grand Opening to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation.

Construction on the 85,000 sqaure-foot store began last year on land that the City of East Ridge acquired from the state of Tennessee and sold to developers. City officials pledged $4 million to the developers in past years to entice the business to East Ridge.

Construction of Bass Pro was the “triggering event” in the city being included in the Border Region Act.

The developers _ Exit 1 LLC _ are building additional retail space adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops. Jordan Crossing, which is to be built on 40 acres surrounding the Bass Pro Shop, could be built out within the next four to five years, city officials said.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.