Bass Pro Shops holds 2-day job fair at new Irvine store

As the much-anticipated opening of Orange County’s first Bass Pro Shops’ Outdoor World nears, the outdoor retailer is holding a job fair to staff the much delayed store this week.

The merchant invites prospective workers to come to the store at 81 Technology Drive in Irvine on Jan. 10-11. The 140,000-square-foot store will have a staff of 125, Bass Pro expects. The retailer’s website shows it has openings for 52 types of jobs in Irvine, with pay from $16 an hour for cashiers up to $34 an hour for repair specialists.

Outdoor World shops sell everything for outdoor enthusiasts from apparel to camping goods to bird feeders to ATVs, fishing and hunting gear, and boats. The stores are also known for training sessions for the gear they sell.

The nearest Outdoor World to Irvine is the only other one in Southern California – in Rancho Cucamonga.

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But it’s an Outdoor World’s theme-park-like feel of its stores that broadens the appeal.

The Irvine location, at the site of an old Walmart, has been thoroughly renovated in the nearly two years since the retailer and its landlord, Irvine Co., announced a lease deal in April 2022.

Initially, the merchant thought the store could open by early 2023. The landlord’s website says the store will feature “museum-like aquariums, thousands of local antiques and artifacts and wildlife dioramas and murals depicting local outdoor scenes.”

No opening day for Irvine shoppers has been announced.