Bass Pro Shop (Phoenix)

America's Most Popular Outdoor Store Expected to Draw 3 Million Visitors Annually to Mesa

MESA, AZ - May 10, 2005 - Bass Pro Shops, the nation's leading outdoor retailer, has signed a lease with the developers of Mesa Riverview, according to Marty De Rito, CEO of De Rito Partners Development, Inc. Bass Pro Shops will become the signature tenant for the 250-acre retail, entertainment and office center development planned for the vacant agricultural property south of Loop 202 and east of Loop 101, between Dobson and Alma School in northwest Mesa.

The Riverview store will be Bass Pro Shops' first entry into the Arizona market and one of only three Bass Pro Shops in the Southwest.

Bass Pro Shops custom designs each of its stores to make it unique to the area in which it's located. Bass Pro Shops' in-house architects design everything from the store's unique exterior to every fixture and furnishing. The stores combine Bass Pro Shops' retail offerings, including Tracker Boat Centers - the world's largest line of fishing and pleasure bots - with a rock-climbing wall, a 30,000-gallon aquarium, and a 10,000 square-foot restaurant.

The Mesa store is expected to be a maximum of 200,000 square feet. It will provide 300 new retail and management jobs for local residents. Bass Pro Shops employs over 11,000 people nationwide.

Nationally, Bass Pro Shops' destination retail locations attract more than 75 million people annually, with an average of three million per store. The typical Bass Pro Shops customer travels two hours to visit a store and spends an average of three hours per visit. Many Bass Pro Shops shoppers add an overnight stay to their visit, which is expected to boost hotel occupancy rates in Mesa.

"Bass Pro Shops is a unique destination retailer," said De Rito. "We expect it to be a big boost to Mesa's economy, due to the number of tourists it will attract and the sales tax revenue it will generate from Bass Pro Shops visitors. These are new visitors to Mesa who will also shop at other west Mesa stores, eat in Mesa restaurants and fill Mesa hotel rooms."

"Bass Pro Shops is very selective in its locations" said Mike Dunham, director of real estate for Bass Pro Shops. "We believe west Mesa is the ideal location for our entry into the booming Arizona market. We're excited to be part of Riverview and look forward to giving Mesa a truly unique, outdoor recreation retail experience, including our annual spring fishing and fall hunting classics, which typically draw 150,000 visitors in four days to each of our stores."