ODESSA, Texas — A piece of Odessa is being carved out for the brand new Bass Pro Shops in Odessa.
On Wednesday, the retailer for outdoor gear broke ground at its upcoming location off of Highway 191 and Mission Blvd.
"This can be the hub of the all new development out here," said John Beckmeyer, the Odessa city manager. "This is an area that is really growing [...] Last Tuesday night we approved another road out in this area."
Initially, crews were going to build a 65,000-square-foot building. However, that has been changed to a 100,000-square-foot retail destination.
"You're going to see a lot of our proprietary brands, which are things like World Wide Sportsman, Natural Reflections, RedHead, Johnny Moore, Team Lew's Signature reels and rods, and then our Tracker Boat lines and [more]," said Asa Ewing, a regional director at Bass Pro Shops. "We're going to have about 115 to 125 jobs. Any starting from part-time into management and most stores we open at least 90 plus if not higher than that or are hired locally."
According to Ewing, the public can expect to see job opportunities open up mid-to-late next year, when a job fair is expected to start.
Odessa Mayor Javier Joven credited the partnerships that made bringing Bass Pro Shops possible.
"This signifies that Odessa has always been here. It's not a new arrival and that we can attract Tier 1 retail to be able to provide and be the destination location for the entire Permian Basin in the West Texas area. We are on the cross roads, everything east of the Metroplex [to] west of the Metroplex, east of El Paso, south of the Panhandle and north of the of the Hill Country. This is the destination. We're in midpoint from south to north," Mayor Joven said. "Let me tell you, this is just the end of the beginning. There are great things [that] are going to come behind this."
Bass Pro Shops in Odessa is scheduled to open in 2025.