Higgins to Bass Pro: sign lease or else

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Bass Pro is told to shape up, or ship out. Congressman Brian Higgins urged the mega retailer to make a move, or else.

Canalside planners had already reported that Bass Pro will be signing the lease in the next few weeks anyway, but Buffalo's Congressman Brian Higgins is turning it into Bass Pro's last chance.

Rep. Brian Higgins said, "We are going to have a great waterfront with or without Bass Pro. What they owe us, the only thing they owe us is a final decision so that we can move in a new direction or work with them to build out Canalside."

That's why Monday night, Higgins transmitted a letter to the president and the CEO of Bass Pro telling them they have 14 days to sign the lease that's been sitting on their desks for two months. And if they don't, Higgins says he will insist that officials of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation proceed with their initiative without Bass Pro's involvement.

"Over 130 businesses from Buffalo and western New York have expressed an interest in locating in Canalside. We have many, many options, but we shouldn't let our destiny to be determined by external influences over which we really have no control," explained Higgins.

News 4 reached Bass Pro Spokesman Larry Whiteley Tuesday afternoon, and regarding the Higgins letter, he says, "We will look it over and we will have a decision one way or the other within the next 14 days." Is Congressman Higgins surprised by the response?

"No I'm not because, George, really, it's been nine years. The success or failure of waterfront development is not contingent on whether or not Bass pro is here. We have a waterfront. It will be a regional destination and I expect to be held accountable. You will see over the next three years the waterfront evolve from its old industrial image, to one of vibrancy, excitement and optimism," said Higgins.

If Bass Pro does sign the lease in the next two weeks, the timeline is still for the store to be up and running in about two years from now.