Cabela's has unveiled plans for its next facility, a 185,000-sf destination/entertainment outdoor gear store in Rogers, MN, about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis near I-94 and Minnesota 101. The superstore, which the company says would be the largest outdoor sports store in the state, is slated for opening late this fall or early in the spring of 2006. It would be Cabela's third store in Minnesota. Cabela's opened a 159,000-sf store in Owatonna in 1998 and a 59,000-sf store in East Grand Forks in 1999.

"Our market research showed that Rogers is an ideal location, and such a great opportunity that it makes sense for us to add a third store in the state," says Dennis Highby, Cabela's president and CEO, who also happens to be a native Minnesotan. "Minnesota continues to be a large and growing market for us, including the thousands of hunters and anglers who travel to and through Minnesota each year."

The company asserts that the new store would not compete with the existing two stores in the state, especially the Owatonna site, which is less than two hours' drive from the Twin Cities on I-35. "Even though the Rogers store will be 90 miles north of our Owatonna store, our customers have been encouraging us to build a store on the north side of Minneapolis," says Mike Callahan, Cabela's SVP of retail operations and marketing.