Hundreds of Orange County residents, and out-of-town visitors, waited in line on Wednesday evening to be the first customers to see the newest Bass Pro Shops superstore at the Alton Marketplace shopping center in Irvine.
The store spans 140,000 square feet and is one of Bass Pro’s larger formats dubbed ‘Outdoor World.’ The company took over the former Walmart space.
A concert and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held before the doors officially opened to kick off a weekend-long series of events to commemorate the opening. Bass Pro executives titled the event an “evening of conservation” where 20% of the night’s sales went to local conservation organizations.
Founder and Chief Executive Johnny Morris was unable to attend due to being under the weather.
“If Johnny won’t go fishing, he’s really sick,” professional angler Jimmy Houston said at the event of the executive’s absence.
Senior Director of Conservation Bob Ziehmer said: “We are proud to be here in your community and look forward to many, many years of fun.”
See below for pictures from Bass Pro’s evening of conservation on March 27.
