Byline: Tom Shaw
Nov. 3--COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Toddler Luke Lane stood in front of the big aquarium and marveled at the fish.
About the same time, his father, Matt Lane, was off marveling at hunting gear.
The new Bass Pro Shops store officially opens today, but hundreds of shoppers, including the Lanes, walked the aisles Wednesday after the store opened for business early.
Customers weren't supposed to be let in until Wednesday night, for the store's grand opening ceremony.
But pent-up demand and confusion over a store flier led people to start lining up Wednesday morning, said Jim Goff, the store's general manager.
'We were truly scrambling until the last minute, but we got it together in time to open the doors,' Goff said.
The 130,000-square-foot store is just northeast of the Interstates 80/29 interchange.
Along with hunting, fishing and other outdoor supplies, the Bass Pro store has the aquarium, a 30-foot rock bluff with waterfall, and mounted deer and other animals.
The Lanes, who live just outside Council Bluffs, are really into the outdoors, Jennifer Lane said.
'We've been waiting for it to open,' she said of the store. 'My husband is a hunter, and my (6-year-old) boy is named Hunter.'
Completing the theme, son Luke's middle name is Fisher.
Randy Mock was driving to Omaha from Kansas City for a contracting job when he passed the store on the interchange.
'I just happened to see all the cars and saw that it was open,' he said while looking at a fishing pole.
Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan said he visited the store Wednesday morning and noticed several cars from states other than Iowa and Nebraska. A location near the Interstates was one reason the company decided to build in the Bluffs.
'People were standing at the door 200 and 300 at a time,' Hanafan said.
The grand opening ceremony Wednesday night included figures from the outdoors and sports worlds. Members of local conservation groups were on hand, as well, including Pheasants Forever and the Nebraska Wildlife Federation.
Store officials said 10 percent of the store's total sales Wednesday would be donated to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for its program to improve fishing in the Midlands.
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