With a decision deadline looming next week, Bass Pro may be close (or not) to signing on the dotted line, but could be abandoning plans for reuse of Memorial Auditorium. That according to a report in today's Buffalo News. The firm and Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) are now eyeing other locations at the foot of Main Street to construct a new, but smaller Bass Pro store. Their preference? A building designed to "resemble an original, early 1800s commercial structure" at the 'Central Wharf' site between the Skyway and Buffalo River once pegged as green space.
Bass Pro's plans have been fluid since the project was formally announced in late-2004. At the time, officials optimistically said the heavily subsidized quarter million square foot store would be open to the public in 2007. Bass Pro seemed excited about the possibilities the 66-year old cavernous structure provided, but store officials have not been able to get a grip on renovation costs.
Just last month, a newly unveiled master plan for the 'Canal Side' neighborhood pegged Bass Pro at 160,000 sq.ft., much smaller than had been disclosed previously. Plans for a museum and hotel in the Aud were shifted to other locations. The firm has also previously discussed demolishing the Aud and building a new store on the site.
Meanwhile, ECHDC continues to work with Benderson Development on plans for the retail, residential, office, hotel and parking facilities for the inner harbor and insists that the project will proceed with or without Bass Pro as an anchor tenant. State and City officials have set a January 16th deadline for the firm to agree to a development deal.
What the future holds for the vacant Aud, and the financial incentives that were to be used for its conversion, is unknown. The last Sabres game played there was on April 14, 1996.