Magnum Shooting Range breaks ground near Bass Pro Shops

The Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce joined in the ground breaking celebration of the Magnum Shooting Range on April 26. The range is next to Bass Pro Shops. The 33,000 square-foot Magnum building will offer a complete state-of-the-art all indoor target shooting complex. It will accommodate both pistol and rifle shooters and service experts and beginners. The firing line will feature modern shooting lanes with fully automatic target carriers. The range will be able to accommodate almost any caliber or style of firearm. The range will feature 24 pistol/rifle lanes, two 50-yard pistol/rifle lanes and six 100-yard pistol/rifle lanes. Magnum will also have a 4,000 square-foot retail shop, where customers can buy ammunition, cleaning supplies, storage gear, and specialty firearms and shooting equipment. Magnum will feature gunsmith Todd Lockburner. He has been serving hunters, target shooters, law enforcement agencies and competition shooters on the front range and coast to coast for over 10 years. Magnum already has about 900 members, according to Copper Ridge developer Gary Erickson. “We’re really excited about the grand opening of Magnum,” Erickson said. “Nine hundred members is pretty good before even having a shovel in the ground.” Erickson added that he expects CB & Potts to break ground in May on an 8,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar. It is part of the popular Front Range chain with locations in the Denver area and Fort Collins. Erickson also said that a Loaf `N Jug convenience store is on a similar timeline to opening. Among the other businesses and restaurants planning to open at the 200-acre urban renewal area are Jimmy Johns, Baldwin Liquors and Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers. “We have close to 15 letters of intent for fast-food restaurants and businesses,” Erickson said. A 400-room hotel project called “Colorado Grand Resort and Hotel” is in its architectural phase. Plans could be submitted to the City of Colorado Springs in the next 60 days, according to Erickson. Groundbreaking is scheduled to begin sometime in the fall. Plans for the resort include a 70,000-square-foot indoor water park. Bass Pro Shop opened in November. It was followed by Bourbon Brother restaurant in February. A long-term key to the success of the development is extending the Powers Boulevard corridor from Highway 83 to Interstate 25, just south of North Gate Boulevard. The project was created through an arrangement with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority. It is expected to begin sometime in the next 10 years. The project will be funded over the next 25 years via a one percent annual sales tax increment of Copper Ridge revenue. That arrangement was passed last fall by the Colorado Springs City Council.