Eagles Landing Expansion Part of Major Sevierville Redevelopment

In April, Sevierville (Tenn.) officials closed on their purchase of 140 acres for $20 million. The acquisition of the land is the first phase of a large civic project that will eventually include a planetarium, a huge Bass Pro Shop, a 200,000-square-foot events center, and an expansion of Eagles Landing Golf Course. Owned by the city of Sevierville, the 18-hole layout will received nine more holes and a new clubhouse.

The total cost of the development – which stretches from Interstate 40 along state Highway 66 to beyond downtown Sevierville – is estimated to be $182 million. At least $100 million in private investment is expected for the public-private project. The 140 acres are part of the city’s Central Business Improvement District (CBID), which will be the site for the new facilities. The events center is expected to cost $27.5 million; a $14 million parking facility is also part of the plan. Officials said they’re in discussions with “two or three” national hoteliers interested in building a 300- to 350-room hotel in or near the events center.

Local developer Earl Worsham is partnering with Florida-based Wonder Works for the 75,000-square-foot planetarium and a hands-on children’s science on 40 acres in the Old Knoxville Highway area. That property was recently bought by Sevierville. According to the Knoxville Sentinel, the project will be called “Universe, The Experience,” and will be similar to the Rose Center for Earth in New York.

The most important tenant for the project is the Bass Pro Shop, a major sporting goods retailer in the Southeast. Bass Pro spokesman, Larry Whiteley, told Cynthia Yeldell of the Knoxville Sentinel that the company plans to build a 135,000-square-foot store – roughly the size of two and a half football fields.

Sevierville purchased the 140 acres through the issuance of bonds. The city’s CBID was approved by the state of Tennessee Building Commission earlier this year. The designation paves the way for the city to make improvements to the area and use new sales tax generated within the district to repay the cost of the new public facilities, roads and other infrastructure. Among the latter items are road improvements, a new water treatment plant, and a downtown trolley transit center.