private industry retail founded 1971 founder john morris headquarters springfield missouri number of locations 94 key people john morris founder and majority owner james jim hagale president & ceo products hunting fishing and outdoor merchandise revenue 4.45 billion 2015 1 number of employees 22 000 2015 subsidiaries cabela s website www.basspro.com bass pro shops outdoor world is a privately held retailer of hunting fishing camping and related outdoor recreation merchandise known for stocking a wide selection of gear . bass pro shops supports and sells merchandise for the national audubon society . contents 1 history 2 house brands 3 tracker marine group 4 retail stores 4.1 outdoor world locations 4.2 other locations 4.3 upcoming locations 5 islamorada fish company restaurant 6 uncle buck s fishbowl and grill 7 nra national sporting arms museum 8 affiliation with nascar 9 gun sales controversies 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history edit bass pro shops at the memphis pyramid bass pro shops at vaughan mills the majority owner john morris began his career in sporting goods with a fishing section in the back of a brown derby liquor store owned by his father located in springfield mo on the road to table rock lake and branson missouri . that small fishing department sold homemade bait and worms proving popular enough that bass pro shops was incorporated in 1971 . these homemade baits were so popular that many people wanted the opportunity to buy these when they had returned home . thus began the bass pro shops catalog first mailed in 1974 . soon it became the world s largest mail order sporting goods store . in 1975 to meet the burgeoning demand for bass pro shops exclusive products american rod and gun was established . acting as a separate wholesaling entity arg serves more than 7 000 independently owned retail stores worldwide . in 1977 bass pro shops introduced the first fish ready complete boat motor and trailer package with the bass tracker . in 1984 construction began on the outdoor world catalog showroom in springfield missouri . big cedar lodge opened in 1988 on table rock lake . in 1995 bass pro shops sportsman s warehouse opened in atlanta georgia its first store outside the state of missouri . in november 2001 taking advantage of outdoor world s popularity as a tourist destination the wonders of wildlife museum was opened next door to the store in springfield . 2 3 the wonders of wildlife museum & aquarium closed for renovation in 2007 . as of october 2016 it is still closed with an expected reopening by the end of the year . 4 in 2015 bass pro shops opened a store inside the memphis pyramid a former sports arena and concert venue in memphis tennessee . in addition to the retail store itself the building houses two restaurants a bowling alley a 100 room hotel an observation deck and the tallest free standing elevator in america . at 535 000 sq ft the pyramid is bass pro s largest store . in october 2016 bass pro shops announced that they had reached a deal to acquire competitor cabela s for 5.5 billion . the deal is being financed via preferred equity financing from goldman sachs and pamplona . goldman sachs will contribute 1.8 billion towards financing and pamplona will contribute the remainder for a total commitment of 2.4 billion . 13 the new entity is expected to be formed and in operation in q1 or q2 of 2017 . 5 the new entity will keep cabela s base in sidney and lincoln nebraska . johnny morris will continue as ceo of the new entity . he will also be the majority shareholder of the new privately held entity . tommy milner stressed that the company had reviewed a range of options that would maximize value with the board choosing to go the route of bass pro shops . house brands edit bass pro shops carries a number of house brands . among these are ascend api bass pro shops bob timberlake johnny morris reels natural reflections offshore angler occulus rangemaxx redhead uncle buck s white river worldwide sportsman xpsl xts blackout archenemy tracker marine group edit for the article on the company see tracker marine group . in 1978 bass pro shops introduced the bass tracker boat produced by the tracker marine group . its brands include tracker boats nitro sun tracker tahoe fisher procraft kenner mako myacht and seacraft . these boats are sold in showrooms attached to every bass pro shops store in stand alone tracker dealerships and to independent marine dealers throughout the united states . all tracker marine group boats are manufactured in multiple plants in southern missouri . over 400 000 people have purchased tracker boats since 1978 . 2 retail stores edit bass pro shops has 94 existing stores in the united states and canada . the store sizes range from 20 000 square feet 1 900 m2 up to 535 000 square feet 49 700 m2 . the largest flagship stores are known as outdoor world stores . the decor of the stores includes taxidermy mounts native to the local area . all stores have an indoor water feature that showcases fish species that are indigenous to the area . the fish in their tanks are game fish of great size . in some of these aquariums professional anglers and store pro staff hold demonstrations showing the use of an artificial bait . they catch the fish in these tanks to show how well the bait works . bass pro shops is also known for its outdoor skills workshops teaching skills as varied as fly fishing dutch oven cooking archery hunting with an archery range in the store and gps navigation . they hold many skills workshops with the top names in the outdoor world . 2 the rancho cucamonga california outdoor world store is used for the exterior shots of the fictional outdoor man store in the abc sitcom last man standing starring tim allen that premiered in 2011 . camera crews have also visited the store several times to film interior shots . 6 outdoor world locations edit main entrance to the bass pro shops outdoor world in springfield missouri bass pro shops outdoor world at the louisiana boardwalk in bossier city louisiana state province city size year opened alabama leeds 150 000 sq ft 7 2008 8 alabama prattville 140 000 sq ft 9 2007 10 alabama spanish fort 140 000 sq ft 11 2008 12 alaska anchorage 80 000 sq ft 13 2014 alberta calgary rocky view 150 000 sq ft 14 2009 arizona mesa 170 000 sq ft 15 2006 16 arkansas little rock 120 000 sq ft 17 2013 british columbia vancouver tsawwassen 145 000 sq ft 18 2016 19 california manteca 120 000 sq ft 20 2008 16 california rancho cucamonga 180 000 sq ft 21 2007 california rocklin 100 000 sq ft 22 2015 california san jose 145 000 sq ft 23 2015 colorado colorado springs 117 000 sq ft 24 2013 colorado denver 186 000 sq ft 25 2005 connecticut bridgeport 150 000 sq ft 26 2015 florida tampa 183 000 sq ft 27 2015 florida dania beach 160 000 sq ft 28 1998 florida ft. myers 130 000 sq ft 29 2005 florida orlando 150 000 sq ft 30 2000 florida palm bay 80 000 sq ft 31 2013 florida tallahassee 70 000 sq ft 32 2013 georgia lawrenceville 130 000 sq ft 2001 georgia savannah 103 000 sq ft 2003 illinois bolingbrook 140 000 sq ft 33 2013 illinois east peoria 150 000 sq ft 2011 illinois gurnee 133 000 sq ft 34 1997 indiana portage 135 000 sq ft 35 2007 indiana clarksville 280 000 sq ft 36 2005 iowa altoona 145 000 sq ft 37 2009 iowa council bluffs 130 000 sq ft 38 2005 kansas olathe 135 000 sq ft 39 2007 louisiana bossier city 106 000 sq ft 40 2003 louisiana denham springs 163 000 sq ft 41 2008 16 maryland hanover 130 000 sq ft 42 2001 massachusetts foxborough 140 000 sq ft 43 2007 michigan auburn hills 130 000 sq ft 44 1998 mississippi pearl 130 000 sq ft 45 2005 45 missouri independence 180 000 sq ft 46 2008 16 missouri springfield 500 000 sq ft 1981 47 north carolina concord 106 000 sq ft 48 1999 nevada las vegas 165 000 sq ft 49 2004 50 new brunswick dieppe 95 000 sq ft 51 2015 new hampshire hooksett 149 000 sq ft 52 2014 ohio cincinnati 140 250 sq ft 53 2000 16 ohio rossford 150 000 sq ft 54 2008 16 oklahoma broken arrow 130 000 sq ft 55 2005 16 oklahoma oklahoma city 110 000 sq ft 55 2003 16 ontario vaughan 131 184 sq ft 2004 56 pennsylvania harrisburg 165 000 sq ft 57 2004 16 south carolina myrtle beach 105 000 sq ft 58 2003 59 tennessee bristol 120 000 sq ft 2014 tennessee memphis at the pyramid 535 000 sq ft 60 2015 tennessee nashville 150 000 sq ft 61 2001 62 tennessee sevierville 130 000 sq ft 63 2005 texas garland 120 000 sq ft 64 2006 16 texas grapevine 200 000 sq ft 65 1999 texas katy 138 000 sq ft 66 1999 texas pearland 150 000 sq ft 67 2007 texas round rock 104 000 sq ft 2015 texas san antonio 200 000 sq ft 68 2006 texas harlingen 145 000 sq ft 69 2011 70 virginia hampton 105 000 sq ft 71 2003 71 virginia richmond hanover county 150 000 sq ft 72 2008 16 washington tacoma 170 000 sq ft 73 2014 74 other locations edit bass pro shops have several other stores that do not fall under the outdoor world flagship brand . state city store name size year opened florida destin world wide sportsman 50 000 sq ft 75 2003 76 florida islamorada world wide sportsman 27 000 sq ft 62 1995 florida palm bay sportsman s center 77 112 000 sq ft 2013 florida port st. lucie sportsman s center 78 100 000 sq ft 2013 florida sweetwater world wide sportsman 100 000 sq ft 79 2006 79 florida tallahassee outpost 70 000 sq ft 80 2013 georgia macon sportsman s warehouse 120 000 sq ft 2006 missouri branson white river outpost 80 000 sq ft 81 2006 82 missouri columbia sportsman s center 82 000 sq ft 83 2005 84 missouri saint charles sportsman s warehouse 88 500 sq ft 85 2001 missouri springfield outlet 20 000 sq ft 86 new york auburn sportsman s center 85 000 sq ft 87 2004 new york utica outpost 65 000 sq ft 88 2013 north carolina cary sportsman s center 105 000 sq ft 89 2013 ontario niagara on the lake outpost 81 000 sq ft 2014 tennessee memphis sportsman s warehouse 84 000 sq ft 90 2002 tennessee east ridge outpost 2016 upcoming locations edit bass pro shops have several stores under construction and opening soon . state city size year opening florida st. john s county 104 000 sq ft 91 2018 92 florida north palm beach 75 000 sq ft 93 unknown ohio boston heights 100 000 sq ft 94 2016 ohio west chester 150 000 sq ft 95 unknown new york uniondale 80 000 120 000 sq ft 96 unknown new york victor 145 000 sq ft 97 2016 new jersey sayreville 200 000 sq ft 98 2017 islamorada fish company restaurant edit logo of islamorada fish company many locations include an islamorada fish company a chain of restaurants owned by bass pro shops . uncle buck s fishbowl and grill edit the new san jose ca bridgeport ct tsawwassen bc altoona ia east peoria il harlingen tx round rock tx bristol tn memphis tn and tacoma wa outdoor world locations feature a first for bass pro shops