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Hmmmm.....I might. I am looking for it right now.

Aw. That's the closest one around for me. I've never been able to find the Columbia one, actually. Glad they postponed it though. I need to pick up so de stuff, and all the flgs stores around here suck

BrassScorpion wrote:However, the good news if there is any is that GW is still supposedly looking for a new Battle Bunker location in Maryland.

I heard a rumor that GW plans to open a larger than normal 7500 square foot Battle Bunker in the Bowie-Crofton area in April-May. If true, a big announcement would be coming in March.

Logan's World Expatriot wrote:I heard a rumor that GW plans to open a larger than normal 7500 square foot Battle Bunker in the Bowie-Crofton area in April-May. If true, a big announcement would be coming in March.

I was keeping that news "under my hat" so to speak for a couple weeks now, but since you've posted it, yes, that rumor is true. GW has apparently already signed a lease for a new Battle Bunker, the real deal, here in Maryland. It will be open 7 days a week and the location is somewhere in the Bowie-Crofton area. That is why the closing of Arundel Mills was extended a couple months, to transition the customers there theoretically to the new Bunker. That also keeps the only store in that county that's open 7 days per week open till the new Bunker takes over.

Damn shame the north Maryland crowd has nothing. Harco, Baltco have plenty of rich people just waiting to get into the hobby. They should have kept the Bunker central to the state.

General Hobbs wrote:Damn shame the north Maryland crowd has nothing. Harco, Baltco have plenty of rich people just waiting to get into the hobby. They should have kept the Bunker central to the state.

I think Bowie-Crofton is a great location for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I live there. Secondly, it's close to my house. Thirdly, it's totally sweet that a battle bunker is opening up close to my house. I could go on, but I've caught my breath so I'm going to resume running victory laps around my living room again.

General Hobbs wrote:Damn shame the north Maryland crowd has nothing. Harco, Baltco have plenty of rich people just waiting to get into the hobby. They should have kept the Bunker central to the state.

The Bunker's new location is meant to better serve D.C. and Northern Virginia, which it definitely will do. No single store can serve all parts of this state or any other completely, but this new one should do nicely where it's going for a lot of people.

Logan's World Expatriot wrote:I think Bowie-Crofton is a great location for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I live there. Secondly, it's close to my house. Thirdly, it's totally sweet that a battle bunker is opening up close to my house. I could go on, but I've caught my breath so I'm going to resume running victory laps around my living room again.

I sure hope it's more Bowie and less Crofton! Crofton seems pretty hard to get to, especially from D.C., as you have to travel quite a ways east and it's inconveniently far from the major highways... at least the way I got there last time I was out that way (I was in a league and had to play someone with limited time at their home in Crofton).

But regardless, this news Totally rocks! Perhaps it's deserving of it's own thread? I imagine a "GW Bunker opening in MD" thread would get a lot more non-local folks interested than the news about the one in the mall closing does.

Edit: New thread posted with the above quotes from you guys, link here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/346002.page

No offense do DC and Virginia folk, but Frak them.

Bowie takes a lil while to get to, depending on who is driving. But something that awesome being so close to those people? Poor Bunker!

Isn't Six Flags in the general area too? It's about a 20-30 minute drive from the old bunker location. I wonder where in that area it's going.

I sure hope it's more Bowie and less Crofton! Crofton seems pretty hard to get to, especially from D.C., as you have to travel quite a ways east and it's inconveniently far from the major highways.

I'll have to dispute that summation of the geography. Crofton adjoins Bowie right along route 301 and that is likely where the Bunker is going. Whichever side of the county line it's on, Bowie or Crofton, it will be 5 minutes off of the Bowie/Crofton exit on Route 50.

Bowie would be nice. College park or greenbelt would be even better

But that's great! Arundel mills was nice, but too small, IMO. It only has two usable tables, both of which are in the way of customers..

BrassScorpion wrote:

I sure hope it's more Bowie and less Crofton! Crofton seems pretty hard to get to, especially from D.C., as you have to travel quite a ways east and it's inconveniently far from the major highways.

I'll have to dispute that summation of the geography. Crofton adjoins Bowie right along route 301 and that is likely where the Bunker is going. Whichever side of the county line it's on, Bowie or Crofton, it will be 5 minutes off of the Bowie/Crofton exit on Route 50.

I was thinking more along the lines of how to get there from the north/south (i.e., 95 or 97) but you're right about route 50. Doesn't do me much good, however... last time I went to Crofton from Columbia I had to take smaller highways rather than interstates, and it took the better part of an hour.

Granted, there are probably better routes... that's just my (limited) experience trying to get out that way thus far!

All sources at this time point to Bowie or Crofton on 301 right off of Route 50.

I'm hoping it'll be on 301 either off of 424 or 450. That'd be perfect for me. Nice easy shot in from home and freedom to avoid the risks inherent on taking 50...

Valete,

JohnS

I've now been told the new Bunker location is final and it's not on Route 301, though the location is secret under pain of death (i.e., termination) for anyone to say. The lease has been signed so if anyone spots any tell-tale construction in a specific area around Bowie, please share. Square footage, about 3700 if I recall correctly. That's more than 50% larger than the old Bunker.

And check this out:

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=CJR&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J8A2KJ73VLCBFBNPG46

Job Snapshot
Location: Bowie, MD (map it!Map it! )

Loading Map...
Employee Type:
Full-Time
Industry:
Retail
Other Great Industries
Manages Others:
Yes
Job Type:
Retail
Management
Other
Experience:
Not Specified
Post Date:
2/14/2011
Description

We are looking for a charismatic and highly motivated individual to manager our battle bunker in the Baltimore area. This individual should be an inspiring reflection of the Games Workshop brand and culture that emulates the passion for outrageous customer service and our hobby.

Key Responsibilities include:

* Become the voice and face of your Games Workshop Battle Bunker.
* Build the hobby through recruiting, educating and interacting with your community of Games Workshop enthusiasts.
* Maintain a lively and magnetic disposition ensuring superior customer service.
* Devise an ongoing schedule of explosively intriguing events, campaigns, and hobby activities that satisfy a versatile community.
* Educate and aspire hobbyists of all levels of interest and involvement.
* Lead, develop and motivate your staff team.
* Create an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun within the walls of your Battle Bunker.
* Generate excitement for all product lines, games systems, and new releases through ingenious hobby events.
* Communicate regularly with your Director for Growth

Requirements Required Experience

* Prior retail and management experience preferred
* Participation in the Games Workshop hobby

Degree Requirements
High School Diploma/ GED

Physical Requirements

* Requires hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity and the ability to distinguish letters or symbols.
* Physical ability to perform the essential functions of the job as listed, which will regularly include the ability to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time and verbally communicate effectively with others.
* May be required to push, pull, lift or move items weighing up to 25 pounds, and occasionally up to 50 pounds.
* Extensive use of the telephone and internet communications.

Honestly, it makes more business sense to put the HQ closer to the DC side of the infill than the Baltimore side. Though I don't have to like it.

Evidently, command of the English language is not a job requirement for GW's recruiters. How many typos, non-sentences, and other errors can you find?

BrassScorpion wrote:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=CJR&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J8A2KJ73VLCBFBNPG46

Job Snapshot
Location: Bowie, MD (map it!Map it! )

Loading Map...
Employee Type:
Full-Time
Industry:
Retail
Other Great Industries
Manages Others:
Yes
Job Type:
Retail
Management
Other
Experience:
Not Specified
Post Date:
2/14/2011
Description

We are looking for a charismatic and highly motivated individual to manager our battle bunker in the Baltimore area. This individual should be an inspiring reflection of the Games Workshop brand and culture that emulates the passion for outrageous customer service and our hobby.

Key Responsibilities include:

* Become the voice and face of your Games Workshop Battle Bunker.
* Build the hobby through recruiting, educating and interacting with your community of Games Workshop enthusiasts.
* Maintain a lively and magnetic disposition ensuring superior customer service.
* Devise an ongoing schedule of explosively intriguing events, campaigns, and hobby activities that satisfy a versatile community.
* Educate and aspire hobbyists of all levels of interest and involvement.
* Lead, develop and motivate your staff team.
* Create an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun within the walls of your Battle Bunker.
* Generate excitement for all product lines, games systems, and new releases through ingenious hobby events.
* Communicate regularly with your Director for Growth

Requirements Required Experience

* Prior retail and management experience preferred
* Participation in the Games Workshop hobby

Degree Requirements
High School Diploma/ GED

Physical Requirements

* Requires hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity and the ability to distinguish letters or symbols.
* Physical ability to perform the essential functions of the job as listed, which will regularly include the ability to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time and verbally communicate effectively with others.
* May be required to push, pull, lift or move items weighing up to 25 pounds, and occasionally up to 50 pounds.
* Extensive use of the telephone and internet communications.

We all have seen how hard the GW editors work.

GW has editors? I thought they just kinda winged it.

Hoping this is true, I'm in College Park and this would be ~10 miles away, pretty sweet!

Have they given any info on the timetable they're looking at for this?

targetawg wrote:Hoping this is true, I'm in College Park and this would be ~10 miles away, pretty sweet! Have they given any info on the timetable they're looking at for this?

Nothing official on timetable, but one may infer that it seems like they are trying to fast-track this as much as possible from the information that is available. The lease is signed, the job is posted and Arundel Mills GW closing is delayed till late April. With luck, we might have the new Bunker within about 2 months! Regarding location, while it's not on Route 301, it's apparently not far off of it at all and is easily accessible from it. It should be easy to get to from 301, Route 50, and 450 and all of that makes it easily accessible if you're coming to the area via the Capital Beltway (495) or down Route 197 in Bowie or interstates like I95 or I97.

The old Bunker was centrally located IN MD and could be reached from Delaware, Westminster and DC within 45 minutes. The new Bunker is easily an hour and a half, 2 hours from most northern MD locations. They should have just manned up and put the "Maryland" Bunker in DC or VA, as it won't be servicing Maryland, but appears to be an attempt to cater to the DV/VA crowd.

As I stated before, they seem to be like locusts...move into an area, sell as much as they can until the area dies out. I'd guess that MD north of Anne Arundel county doesn't do enough business anymore and that southern MD is ripe for the pickings. In 4-5 years when sales slack, that Bunker will close.

Well considering the location, I might go maybe once a year? If that. No point in wasting tons of time driving when I could be playing instead.

General Hobbs, no need to derail the thread with unfounded speculation... we've been over this several times. The GW stores in northern MD are doing business just fine (Owings Mills, White Marsh) as are the ones closer to me in Olney and Columbia. There is also no way that location is 2 hours from anywhere in MD other than the far Eastern Shore, or pan handle. It takes me less than 2 hours to get to Philadelphia where Showcase Comics is, and I'm well south of Baltimore.

I know you don't like the location, but it honestly makes a Lot of sense. It can service both D.C. and Baltimore from that area, whereas before it was too far to realistically draw the D.C. crowd. On the weekend when there's less traffic, it should be easy for anyone in MD to get to other than the aforementioned really far east/west areas, which couldn't have gotten to the previous Bunker location, either.

I stopped by the Arundel Mills store this weekend to ask if they could confirm anything... of course they couldn't, but they did mention they'd be able to say more closer to the end of April. Which we already knew, since they're going to put the word out before they close the store it seems!

Thanks for the update, BrassScorpion! Also, Chrispy sighting

I agree, the previous hobby center was too far for me in DC to bother going to.

This new one I'll be sure to check out and possibly go to regularly.

GENERAL HOBBS stop only thiinking about yourself. Washington, DC/NVA has a huge population of gamers with almost ZERO stores with decent tabes except for Dream Wizards in Rockville.

General Hobbs wrote:

The old Bunker was centrally located IN MD and could be reached from Delaware, Westminster and DC within 45 minutes. The new Bunker is easily an hour and a half, 2 hours from most northern MD locations. They should have just manned up and put the "Maryland" Bunker in DC or VA, as it won't be servicing Maryland, but appears to be an attempt to cater to the DV/VA crowd.

As I stated before, they seem to be like locusts...move into an area, sell as much as they can until the area dies out. I'd guess that MD north of Anne Arundel county doesn't do enough business anymore and that southern MD is ripe for the pickings. In 4-5 years when sales slack, that Bunker will close.

GW has three stores in northern maryland; St Thomas, Yorkridge, and White Marsh. GW is hardly abandoning northern MD.

We still do not know the location of the new bunker. If I were GW I would put it in the location that serves the most people who are not currently served by a GW store. Thus, if they wanted to keep it in MD then they should put it closer to DC.

Yea but some of the Northern stores are small.

Although it is funny when people come in and ask if they have a specific Wii game.

spaceelf wrote:

General Hobbs wrote:

The old Bunker was centrally located IN MD and could be reached from Delaware, Westminster and DC within 45 minutes. The new Bunker is easily an hour and a half, 2 hours from most northern MD locations. They should have just manned up and put the "Maryland" Bunker in DC or VA, as it won't be servicing Maryland, but appears to be an attempt to cater to the DV/VA crowd.

As I stated before, they seem to be like locusts...move into an area, sell as much as they can until the area dies out. I'd guess that MD north of Anne Arundel county doesn't do enough business anymore and that southern MD is ripe for the pickings. In 4-5 years when sales slack, that Bunker will close.

GW has three stores in northern maryland; St Thomas, Yorkridge, and White Marsh. GW is hardly abandoning northern MD.

We still do not know the location of the new bunker. If I were GW I would put it in the location that serves the most people who are not currently served by a GW store. Thus, if they wanted to keep it in MD then they should put it closer to DC.

I would agree, the mentality of "this is terrible" is more accurately "this is terrible for me". Remember, there's a lot of folks in southern MD without much of a place to play. I'm outside of college park as I said, and the closest stores: Rockville (40 minutes ) and Games n Stuff in Glen Burnie (45-50 minutes). If the bunker did move into the proposed location, I'll have a shop thats about 10 miles away, or more like 15-20 minutes, and will be pretty darn happy!

Remember, even if it isn't the closest to you (or as close as it was) you still are incredibly close when you think of the bigger picture of the United States. There aren't but a handful of bunkers, and you're near an east coast location. Still not half bad for a trip every now and then!

Smolo82 wrote:Yea but some of the Northern stores are small.

Although it is funny when people come in and ask if they have a specific Wii game.

It is true that some of the N MD stores are small. However, Yorkridge is currently the largest GW store in MD with three 6x4 tables, two 5x4 tables, and three intro tables, along with an enormous paint bar. It is rare that there is not space to paint or play.