The vacant Pyramid arena in downtown Memphis will be transformed into a Bass Pro Shop. Instead of a 210-room hotel on three floors around The Pyramid's interior, Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris is considering building 60 to 80 "cabins" inside the building.
Building a hotel became too expensive because of the load-bearing support that would be needed to construct it. The planned store will feature a Delta cypress swamp with a large body of water on the ground floor and cypress trees stretching to the upper reaches of the building. Plans also call for large water features, a general store, zip line, restaurant, and elevator to a two-story observation deck. The Downtown Memphis Commission contributed $215 million in bonds to fund the project.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com/business/memphis-bass-pro-transforming-shuttered-pyramid)
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