Indianapolis, IN

Fri 22 June 2007

So, I’m thinking about Cabela’s. The city of Greenwood, about 10 miles south of Indianapolis, just announced that land around County Line Rd and I-65 has been bought to house a new Cabela’s store. Cabela’s is famous for outdoor, camping, hunting, and fishing gear. There are only 19 Cabela’s stores across the U.S., with 13 that are coming soon, including the one in Greenwood, one in Hammond, IN and one in Canada (the first outside of the US). The site in Greenwood has plans to include a hotel and a water park as well. Now, I’ve never been to a Cabela’s store, although I drove by the one on I-35 just south of Minneapolis (Owatoona, MN). From what I’ve heard, it seems like a store that thinks it’s a museum, an aquarium and a theme park. These stores are absolutely huge. The one in Greenwood has proposed to hire nearly 200 people. One of the things about Cabela’s stores is that they are placed far from the next one (unlike Starbucks or CVS); that way, people will be more likely to drive a far distance to go to their stores. Greenwood officials wanted to lock in the location, so that they won’t build another Cabela’s within 100 miles. Well, Cabela’s said no to that, but did agree to a 50 mile radius. So, that way, they can build a store, if they choose so in the future, near Cincinnati or near Louisville. But to tell you the truth, say they build one near Cincinnati, and you live in Greensburg (which is more or less halfway between the two cities). I would think you could go to the one in Cincy, AND you can also go to the one in Indy. I hardly think that those people are just sitting there on their thumbs trying to figure out which Cabela’s to go to. Besides, the next nearest store north is in Dundee, MI; the nearest store west is in Hazelwood, MO; the next nearest store east is in Wheeling, WV; and the nearest store south is in Ft. Worth, TX. I still think we’ll have a lot of people who will drive a few hours to get to the one in Greenwood, even if they build another within 100 miles. So, I guess I’m just gonna have to wait until the fall of 2008 in order to get my hiking sandals.

Cabela’s, outdoor sports, fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, outdoor gear