Chris Krishak of Weirton, W.Va., wore Steelers gear yesterday to shop the new Tanger Outlets mall in Washington County and get an autograph from football star Jerome "The Bus" Bettis. Those black and gold Nike sneakers? He bought 'em last year at the Prime Outlets mall in Grove City.

The moment of reckoning has arrived. Now that the new 75-store outlet mall in South Strabane is open for business, it remains to be seen whether the $105 million center ends up battling its 140-store neighbor up north for sales or manages to multiply overall shopping dollars coming into the region from outside the borders.

For the time being, government and company officials just seemed glad the development process, which took about four years to go from site selection to selling shoes, is over and tour buses can begin to import customers.

"We're really excited about this," said Richard Bonds, the state's executive director of tourism marketing, who attended the ribbon cutting and brought along a proclamation from the governor welcoming the new mall. He said tourism is a major state industry and that shopping is the No. 1 activity for tourists.

Along those lines, the new outlet mall is just down the street from the Meadows harness racing track and the new casino. Shoppers who could produce receipts showing they'd spent $50 at the outlet mall yesterday were being offered gift cards at the casino, an early indication that cross-marketing may boost both operations.

"We do have a very close working relationship with The Meadows," said Steven B. Tanger, president and chief operating officer of the Greensboro, N.C., outlet mall company. He sees potential for more cooperation in the future.

Eva Popielarczyk, of Vestaburg, started her day at the casino. She was there about 7:30 a.m. but came over in time to do a little shopping and then get in the line for autographs around 10 a.m. Later, she thought she might head back to the casino.

Mr. Tanger, whose name rhymes with "hanger," said the company settled on the site before the casino was approved. Even without that, officials felt the location and area demographics could support the mall. Still, he wouldn't mind seeing a Bass Pro store come in nearby, or see the state approve table games such as poker and roulette at the casino.

Local and state officials helped put roads and tax incentives in place to make the project work. Some in the community opposed public help for the project, but Mr. Tanger said "99.99 percent" of the people in Washington County and South Strabane were excited about seeing the investment in the community that he estimates will create 800 full- and part-time retail jobs, and produce millions in tax revenue.

The outlet mall could grow. Tanger had planned to open with 308,000 square feet of retail space but found enough tenants to go ahead with another 60,000 square feet. The space is about 90 percent leased, Mr. Tanger said.

Plans for another 50,000 to 60,000 square feet are in place, but Mr. Tanger said officials would wait to see how things go. "If the traffic today is any indication, it won't be too long," he said......

The heavily marketed grand opening started with a rush of shoppers packing the new parking lot. By midday, space was at such a premium, cars were lined up along the road leading up to the mall.

Coupons were a big draw, said Nancy Anselmino, of Monongahela, who had a KB Toys bag at her feet as she stood in line with her daughter, a friend and new acquaintances made while waiting patiently to see Mr. Bettis. By midday, the line for autographs from the football star extended from the Coach store past several merchants' doors to end around Claire's.

Maybe when they eventually came face to face with Mr. Bettis he repeated what he told the audience at the ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier: "Please check out the new center. Spend lots of cash."