The obituaries for Bass Pro in Buffalo have been written and filed. An appropriate mourning period has passed. The time has come to seize the opportunity to do something special at the Canal Side site where the Aud once stood.

For all of the attention directed at Bass Pro over the years, the Inner Harbor development was never intended to be a one-trick, retail-centric pony. The original Canal Side concept integrated a diverse range of retail and entertainment options intended to draw traffic from a wide demographic.

That's a good place to start as Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. draws up a fresh strategy for the district. I've collected a few suggestions - some more novel than others - that planners might consider as they map new plans for the space.

• Talk about building a convention center in the city was a hot topic a few years ago. Sites along the Outer Harbor and at the terminus of the Kensington Expressway were floated but never gained momentum. The homely and somewhat outdated Buffalo Niagara Convention Center remains serviceable, but no one in the convention/hospitality industry is especially excited about the long-term prospects of the building's ability to draw national and regional events.

With a new center going online in Niagara Falls, Ont., there is an urgency for this region to remain competitive in the convention/meetings industry. A modern convention center in Canal Side, a block from HSBC Arena and a few steps from the Metro Rail line, is worth considering.

• How about one of those indoor, all-season waterparks? Families from Western New York make the trek to Erie, Pa., and Niagara Falls, Ont., all the time for vacations at similar attractions. If planners were convinced that Bass Pro had enough juice to draw people downtown, wouldn't a water theme park do the same thing better?

I have no idea how many hunters and anglers out there were itching to shop at a downtown big box, but I'll bet a lot more families would find their way to a Canal Side waterpark. Think of the opportunities for peripheral development: restaurants, an attached hotel, shops - all of the components of the lively district envisioned by planners.

• If a convention center or waterpark doesn't do it for you, how about some high-quality green space in the city's core?

In a Business First story two weeks ago, Lynda Schneekloth, a University at Buffalo School of Architecture professor, suggested that the Outer Harbor should be developed as the city's front yard. Why not carry an element of that concept into Canal Side?

Frederick Law Olmsted had a great vision for Buffalo when he designed the city's parks system in the 1870s.

Delaware, Martin Luther King and Cazenovia parks are all part of Olmsted's legacy. Developing an urban park would complement the historic aspects of Canal Side while providing visitors, commuters and a new generation of downtown residents with a place to relax and recreate.

• A museum cluster. Four U.S. presidents have important ties to Buffalo. Canal Side would be an ideal location for a museum focused on Millard Fillmore, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Communities with a lot less to offer draw thousands of visitors to sites with only a fraction of the presidential history concentrated here. The fact that Cleveland and Fillmore were living in Buffalo when the Canal District was a center of commerce would be a natural tie.

Buffalo was a key battleground during the War of 1812. So much so that British troops garrisoned in Canada crossed the Niagara River in December of 1813 and burned the settlement to the ground.

A museum showcasing the region's strategic role in the war has the potential to attract scholars and military buffs from around the world.

After years of anticipation, Bass Pro's exit disappointed many. But the development opportunities that will emerge could end up being a better catch for Canal Side.

Jeff Wright is editor of Business First. Contact him at jwright@bizjournals.com or 716-541-1620.