COMMENTARY
Donn Esmonde: Questioning Bass Pro isn’t anti-Buffalo
Given the sorry big-project track record of our power brokers, I would expect them to be diplomatic in their tub-thumping for Bass Pro.
Wrong.
Bass Pro officials this week renewed their commitment to a Buffalo store, despite reports that the company is slowing its growth. Fine. What is not so fine are comments from Tom Dee, board president for Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp.
“If you’re for Buffalo, you’re for this project,” Dee, an executive at Cannon Design, told The Buffalo News. “That’s what this is about.”
Not really.
There are people who are heart and soul behind Buffalo who have reservations about this project—for good reasons.
We are trying to create a retail-heavy district where none exists. A few blocks away, Main Street is an ode to empty storefronts. Bass Pro ups the long-term ante by requiring four new, nearby parking ramps. It is not clear how much money Bass Pro is putting on the table, or how many millions of taxpayer dollars are needed to bring it. Bass Pro has a heady track record for luring customers. But the more stores it builds—and it has two within a two-hour drive—the less of an attraction each one becomes.
Arun Jain, University at Buffalo marketing professor, said he has “serious doubts” about the long-term success of Bass Pro here.
“It needs to be supported by neighboring regions,” said Jain, “and where are those people coming from? A lot of what they sell is already sold here. It does not seem to me like a worthwhile investment.”
Blind allegiance left the building a long time ago. There is nothing wrong with questioning a questionable project. That is particularly true when taxpayers are covering a big part of the bill.
Beyond that, there is a history of big projects backed by local power brokers that have backfired: Main Place Mall. A too-small convention center. Building the Niagara Thruway along the river. The Skyway. An elevated, anti-development Route 5, recently renewed. A six-mile Metro Rail line. UB in Amherst, the blunder of the past half-century. And on and on.
We do not live in a particularly progressive community. Conventional wisdom is often wrong. Political and business power brokers can be out of touch. We all want good things to happen around here. But blindly following so-called leaders has not usually been the path to progress. I thought we knew that by now.
It takes guts to speak out when the community’s heavy hitters are marching in lockstep. The pro-Bass Pro roll call includes Bob and Mindy Rich, friends of Bass Pro CEO Johnny Morris; developer and Sabres executive Larry Quinn; and a legion of politicians, from Brian Higgins to Byron Brown.
Questioning Bass Pro means ticking off some powerful people—a high price to pay in small-city Buffalo.
I have no idea whether Bass Pro will fly or fail. It it comes, I hope it works. Erie Canal Harbor board members say that it is not an all-or-nothing “silver bullet.” It is touted as one part of the Canal Side attractions, along with HSBC Arena and the waterfront/historic district. ECHDC head Jordan Levy, to his credit, has been open about the project’s risks, as well as its potential rewards.
We live in a desperate community, people are impatient, and those with the power to make this happen are pushing it. I know they have our best interests at heart—but so do the people with doubts about it.
There are arguments to be made for and against this thing. But reservations about Bass Pro equals anti-Buffalo? Sorry, that does not play in a town riddled with self-inflicted wounds.
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