What to Expect at the Bass Pro Pyramid

Memphis, Tn - It's not just rods and reels. It's hundreds of rods and reels with thousands of lures to catch bass or brim, crappie or trout.

But, if you look up, above the bait and tackle, the details transform you to the back woods during deer rutting or hunting season.

A 9 ½ foot long, 320 pound beauty of a gator is the main attraction down near the small water fall where the boats and ATVs are show cased.

"We attract 4 million customers a year. Place where dreams come true," says General Manager Michael Black.

But, we're talking about the Springfield store. Outdoor enthusiasts call it Mecca, where it all started. People drive hours to get there.

"I wish I could live here, pop a tent right up there," said Thomas Snow from Plato, Mo.

Is anybody going to want to pop a tent at the Bass Pro Pyramid?

"This is gonna be the Bass Pro Shop of all Bass Pro Shops," says Alan Barner.

Barner attended the University of Memphis and saw college basketball played in the Pyramid.

He and his architect colleagues at O. T. Marshall are the local tear down, throw out, rebuild, lifeline for the Pyramid Bass Pro center.

He knows everything from which attraction will replace the men's locker room to what will become of the arena floor.

"The entire arena floor…a large aquarium with a series of boardwalks...wildlife in each pool."
According to Barner, you'll even be able to fish, "for crappie, exactly, it's a catch and release."

Skeptics say Memphis is in for the same kind of letdown as Buffalo, New York. A 10 year courtship between the city of Buffalo and Bass Pro ended before the paperwork was done.

Memphis is already ahead of Buffalo. The paperwork is signed. The Pyramid is being emptied. The architects are local and working.

But, if you build it, will they come?