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FOXBORO - Gov. Deval Patrick wants to lure business to Massachusetts, and Thursday he was in town to celebrate snaring a national outdoor chain's first New England superstore.

Patrick toured the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World under construction at Patriot Place, the 1.3 million-square-foot "super-regional lifestyle and entertainment experience" under construction next to Gillette Stadium on Route 1.

The governor looked on as the store's sign was unveiled, signaling that exterior construction of the massive building is almost complete.

The store - equivalent in square-footage to 3 Gillette Stadium football fields, and slightly larger than a typical Bass Pro - is scheduled to open Nov. 15.

Bass Pro will anchor the south plaza of Patriot Place. The north plaza is expected to open in the fall of 2008. Patrick praised the Kraft family for developing Patriot Place, and welcomed Bass Pro to Massachusetts.

"Economic development is not just a key feature of our administration, it has to be a key feature and element for all of us," Patrick said.

"I don't do all the stuff that is supported by the products that you sell, but I look forward to learning," the governor told Bass Pro Director of Conservation Martin MacDonald.

Foxboro's Bass Pro store will feature an expansive boat showroom with boats built by the Tracker Marine Group, the world's largest manufacturer of fishing boats.

A wide selection of fishing, hunting, camping and marine clothes, gifts and footwear will be available, too.

Bass Pro expects to hire 250 to 300 associates for the Foxboro store, MacDonald said.

A job fair will be held Aug. 27 to 29, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

MacDonald said the Krafts drew Bass Pro to Foxboro.

"Everything the Kraft family undertakes is quality - and that is with a big 'q' in quality," MacDonald said.

"It doesn't get any better than being in Foxboro, being next to Gillette Stadium and being neighbors to the New England Patriots," he said. Kraft Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Kraft said his family was unfamiliar with the outdoor superstore until real estate agents told them, "if you could get Bass Pro Shops there, you'd have something very special."

The Krafts then visited some stores to see for themselves.

"Go in there. You'll be blown away," Jonathan Kraft said.

Kraft Group Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said Bass Pro will help Patriot Place "go beyond what we originally planned, and make this the No. 1 destination regional spot in all of New England."

Bass Pro officials say that of their 47 stores nationwide, 10 are ranked in the top three of those state's tourist destinations.

The Foxboro superstore will have a logging-themed laser arcade, a large waterfall, aquarium and touch pools showcasing New England fish, bridges, a two-story log and timber White River Fly Shops department and an NFL-themed shop with the Patriots logo carved in one of the handrails.

The store decor will have a strong New England flavor.

"If you've got memorabilia from hunting, outdoors, fishing stuff, we want to get it," MacDonald said. "We want to display it."

MacDonald said Bass Pro strongly supports conservation, and is pledged to continue that in Foxboro.

Local conservation groups will have booths inside the shop during a star-studded "Evening for Conservation" planned for Nov. 14, the night before the grand opening.

"Foxboro, I want you to listen to this. We promise our store will work with the community," he said.

Selectman Robert Hickey presented MacDonald with a Patriots football that the team distributed to Foxboro residents before the historic December 1998 vote that paved the way for Gillette Stadium, and then Patriot Place.

The five current selectmen signed the ball.

Patriot Place is "beyond the scope of anything we could've imagined in Foxboro," Hickey said.

MICHAEL GELBWASSER can be reached at 508-236-0439 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.