In today's SL Tribune
Outdoors superstore heads to Utah County
By Mark Eddington
The Salt Lake Tribune
PROVO - It may not be as big as the great outdoors, but the Cabela's hunting and fishing superstore coming to northern Utah County will be a whopper.
"It's a big deal," said Tim Simonsen of Prime Commercial about today's announcement of a 150,000-square-foot Cabela's planned for Lehi east of Thanksgiving Point and Interstate 15.
Gov. Olene Walker will join officials from Utah County, Lehi and Cabela's at Traverse Mountain Development at 2 p.m. to announce the project, which state economic development officials say will create up to 400 full- and part-time jobs.
Details were sketchy Monday, pending today's news conference at 3490 N. Traverse Mountain Blvd.
However, the Utah County Commission is poised to pass a $2 million revenue bond this morning for a museum connected with the Cabela's project. Commissioners would not discuss Monday how the store and museum are linked.
The Lehi City Council, according to its agenda, is scheduled tonight to discuss a development agreement with Cabela's, as well as a $9 million revenue bond for infrastructure upgrades for the project.
"The bond will include water, sewer, storm drain, electric and road improvements," Lehi City Recorder Connie Ashton said. The city is "pledging sales tax and transient-room tax revenues" as collateral for the bond.
Cabela's boasts nine superstores - with three more set to open - and a two-story, 120,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Sidney, Neb., that houses 500 employees and is large enough to accommodate a football field on each floor.
The Lehi store would be the first Cabela's in the West, according to the chain's Web site.
Forbes magazine named Cabela's one of the nation's top 100 companies for which to work. In June 2004, the company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.
Outdoor enthusiasts say Cabela's is second to none. A typical store sports wall-to-wall trophies of virtually every game animal. Fishing ponds, aquariums, education booths and other flourishes help lure patrons.
"Cabela's
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is not your average retail store," said Stan Lockhart, a State Council of Workforce Services member who helped arrange a meeting between the Utah Governor's Office and Cabela's. "It's a destination that people will flock to from all over the Intermountain West. So this is a real coup for Utah County, especially for Lehi."
An avid hunter and fisher, Jason Hunt of American Fork has heard rumors about Cabela's coming to Utah County.
"This means the world; this is so incredible," Hunt said. "When my buddies go to Nebraska, they make sure Cabela's is first on their list of places to go. Cabela's has . . . all the name brands for guns, knives, rods and reels and anything else you can name. It is going to put all the other stores out of business, but we're OK with that."
meddington@sltrib.com
About Cabela's
How it started: The Nebraska-based company was founded in 1961 as a direct-mail company by Dick and Mary Cabela. Today, it employs more than 7,000 people and produces more than 30 catalogs a year.
Where they are: Cabela's has nine stores in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Kansas. Three others are set to open in Texas and West Virginia.
About the stores: Retail stores are generally large - they range from 40,000 to 225,000 square feet. The larger stores include an interior mountain with taxidermy animals.
On the Web:
http://www.cabelas.com
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