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Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Ind. Econ. Dev. - After losing Mittal to Chicago, Indiana goes after Bass Pro Shops

"Daniels trying to lure mega sports store" is the headline to this story today by Jon Seidel in the Gary Post Tribune. Some quotes:

The governor may attempt to lure Bass Pro Shops into Northwest Indiana at a meeting today with the retail giant’s representatives.

The mega sporting goods store is believed to be considering a site at the Ameriplex complex in Portage, north of Interstate 94.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, store representatives and executives of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. are all expected to be in on the discussion, said Weston Sedgwick, a spokesman for the IEDC. * * *

Sedgwick said economic incentives for the retailer to locate in Indiana also will be part of the talk. “I’m sure that will be part of the conversation,” Sedgwick said.

The state’s policy is to not offer incentives for retailers, Sedgwick said. Chicago nabbed the Mittal Steel national headquarters this month by offering $9.5 million in incentives, while Indiana made no formal offer.

Sedgwick said offers were suggested to Mittal, but he said the company already seemed to have decided on Chicago. “We would have, obviously, been prepared to put together a deal for Mittal Steel,” Sedgwick said. “They were pretty much already set on the Chicago location.”

One would think Indiana might have a "leg up" here, as BMV-head Joel Silverman, the former chief of another sports chain, Galyans, may be available to offer advice to the Governor.

ILB entries on the Mittal decision to locate its national headquaters in Chicago, rather than in steel-producing NW Indiana, are available here: 10/5/05 and 10/8/05.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 18, 2005 08:02 AM
Posted to Indiana economic development