SAY NO TO OUTDOORS RETAIL SUBSIDIES

Cabela's sought big incentives from state
Retailer wanted more than what it received in aid, documents show
By Dan Zehr
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Cabela's Inc. had two priorities when the outdoors retailer approached state officials about the two stores it wanted to build in Texas: a big package of incentives and a shield from collecting some state sales taxes.

The company didn't get all it was looking for, but it got a pretty hefty chunk.
Documents released by the governor's and comptroller's offices provide a clearer look at some of what Cabela's requested — and in many cases received as incentives to build huge outdoor sporting goods stores in Buda and Fort Worth.

The Austin American-Statesman obtained the letters through the Texas Public Information Act. Cabela's had sued to block their release after Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled in May that the documents didn't include trade secrets. The company dropped its opposition earlier this month.

Among the documents was a Feb. 13, 2004, letter from Cabela's to the governor's office, in which the company asked for $15 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, the state's $295 million job-creation fund. Cabela's ultimately received just $400,000, with a chance to earn another $200,000 if it maintains certain employment levels.

"We didn't think ($15 million) was appropriate for 600 jobs in Buda and Fort Worth," said Phil Wilson, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry. "We thought it was a nice jobs project, particularly for a part of the state like Buda that could develop around it."

But state officials didn't leave Cabela's empty-handed. They ponied up $20 million in highway money to improve the Interstate 35 interchange that serves Buda and the store there.

"Part of the state's assistance was improvements to I-35, down in Buda in particular," said Kevin Rhodes, Cabela's director of real estate. "Ultimately, we came to an agreement in how we would structure the two deals."

Wilson called the highway improvement money "good public policy," adding that it wasn't an exchange for the money refused from the enterprise fund.