Thousands come from as far as Sunnyvale to new Bass Pro Shops in

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Oct 16, 2008 | by Jennifer Gokhman

MANTECA -- More than 15,000 shoppers swarmed the new Bass Pro Shops in Manteca during its first 10 hours in business, according to store promoters, with customers coming from as far away as Fresno and Sunnyvale.

The 120,000-square-foot store is the anchor of the Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley, a new shopping and lifestyle center. It is the 53rd Bass Pro store to open and the first one in Northern California.

Even with the added traffic, no major problems were reported in the area. Other than minor backups on Highway 120 and nearby streets, traffic flowed smoothly, said Manteca police Traffic Sgt. Nick Obligacion.

"It's going very well," he said. "We've been real fortunate."

About seven police officers were on duty to help control traffic starting Wednesday evening, when the store held a celebrity-studded party and let more than 7,000 customers in for their first glimpse. Store officials reported that an average of 1,000 shoppers an hour streamed through the doors all day Thursday, and this weekend is expected to be busy.

"Saturday will be off the hook -- it will be packed," said Dan Dugger, store general manager. "Weekends, we'll really get huge crowds."

A replica of a giant redwood tree, with a cutout for people to walk through, stands right inside the entryway. Looking all the way to the back, visitors see a scene of Yosemite and Half Dome and a waterfall that drops into a 20,000-gallon aquarium, with a trout pond in front. The fish, which will come from this region, aren't in the aquarium yet.

"I can't describe it," said Kelly Foster, 56, of Bass Lake, near Yosemite, about two hours from Manteca. "It's tremendous. I've never seen a store like this, this big."

Foster has ordered from Bass Pro catalogs for some time, and he and his wife even decorate their cabin-style home with items from Bass Pro.

Wednesday night, people stood on a second-floor bridge made with an old railroad trestle and just gazed around, taking it all in. Every square inch of wall space is covered in murals of nature in the Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. Lifelike dioramas with deer, rams, bears and mountain goats adorn the whole store. In the boating area, large fish replicas hang from the ceiling. In the lights, the fencing and even the floor, marked with paw prints, the decor was in the details.

The store's inventory ranges from welcome mats to fishing boats. People can buy hunter's camouflage armchairs, canoes, archery equipment, paintball guns, duck calls, fishing lures, clothing and a wide array of outdoor gear.

"It's a beautiful store," said Carolyn Mead, 65, of Lodi, who stood on the second floor searching for her son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons. "It's the perfect place to dump your husband for a day."

At Wednesday's party, people waited in line to get autographs from BASS Angler-of-the-Year Roland Martin, 2008 Olympic BMX racing bronze medalist Donny Robinson and former Los Angeles Lakers Brian Shaw and Flynn Robinson, as well as Miss Manteca, Ashley Parker.

Billiards star Jeanette Lee, aka "The Black Widow," demonstrated pool techniques to the crowd and gave individual lessons.

Members of conservation groups were on hand as well.

"This gives us the opportunity to answer a lot of questions," said Harry Morse, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game. "People are interested, and they want to know about licenses and where and when to hunt and where and when to fish."

He said a store such as this is good because it supports hunting and fishing, and a percent of the sales taxes come back to the department.

Reach Jennifer Gokhman at 209-832-6144 or jgokhman@bayareanewsgroup.com.