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Decisions that changed omaha
and not for the better.
Loss of AkSarBen. Not utilizing AkSarBen for an Arena and or/UNO campus esclusively. A new stadium and expansion of the UNO campus was sorely needed, that was the only space they could have expanded into. and it was a popular location for septemberfest and other events I enjoyed.
The loss of Peony Park, as a public park and swimming complex. The pool had historic signifcance to this town, as did the ballroom and royal grove. It was needed and its loss affected things in a way well never know.
We know this is a style. 100 times over this is being recommended as a way to improve downtown. But all citie are not the same, In this case the location of the stadium gives it special access to Hwy 80 and the many who spot it and the zoo in their travels.
Come on. Do the right thing. Not too many towns have a national colllege world series venue that people travel from all over to visit.
It should be fixed up as it is, adding a balcony of seating behind homeplate. In addition there shoud be no more consolidation of entertainment venues in the downtown area. Two of the best things about this town are 1. the zoo and 2. rosenblatt. the quest center is not one of the good things. I never visit downtown. No one I know wants this. That means: this is another bad decision.
Ok who cares if someone is driving by on I-80 and sees the outdated or "historic" stadium? There has to be a bottom line here and that is what is going to be the best money maker in the years to come. The decision, at least initially, will lie in the hands of the NCAA. They will know what the most attractive venue is for the CWS and they will have their input. I don't think their view of "attractive" is going to include dark concrete vender walkways which smell like urine, attractive. We as locals do see Rosenblatt is a very special stadium but that’s only because that’s all we know. Do you really think fans from Cal St. Fullerton are really impressed with Rosenblatt as a venue? Hell no they aren't and if you were in their shoes coming here to spend money to watch your team you would probably much rather be right near downtown hotels, restaurants, bars and other attractions other than just a damn zoo. The zoo is great but they can take a shuttle their anytime they feel like it. Also, the current location is somewhat of a bust. Packing as many cars in the yards of houses closest to the stadium and paying $10-20 for it? Not to mention, it has become somewhat of a drug neighborhood and the CWS is a so called "family event". I don’t think there should even be a question of should we build a stadium...it should be how fast we can get this done and what could the city afford to spend. I know the Blatt has a lot of history with all of us but it is TIME FOR CHANGE....something people in Omaha have a very hard time acknowledging.
Decisions that changed omaha
and not for the better.
Loss of AkSarBen. Not utilizing AkSarBen for an Arena and or/UNO campus esclusively. A new stadium and expansion of the UNO campus was sorely needed, that was the only space they could have expanded into. and it was a popular location for septemberfest and other events I enjoyed.
The loss of Peony Park, as a public park and swimming complex. The pool had historic signifcance to this town, as did the ballroom and royal grove. It was needed and its loss affected things in a way well never know.
We know this is a style. 100 times over this is being recommended as a way to improve downtown. But all citie are not the same, In this case the location of the stadium gives it special access to Hwy 80 and the many who spot it and the zoo in their travels.
Come on. Do the right thing. Not too many towns have a national colllege world series venue that people travel from all over to visit.
It should be fixed up as it is, adding a balcony of seating behind homeplate. In addition there shoud be no more consolidation of entertainment venues in the downtown area. Two of the best things about this town are 1. the zoo and 2. rosenblatt. the quest center is not one of the good things. I never visit downtown. No one I know wants this. That means: this is another bad decision.
They did use Aksarben land for UNO. (Peter Kiewit Institute, Athlete Dorms etc.)
Also, Peony Park was demolished because it was outdated and not exactly a revenue generator.
I just don’t understand why people have not yet understood that these days everything does come down to money. Our emotional attachments to various places are not always a good reason for their preservation.
Is it such a bad thing in Omaha to look towards the future? If we don't we will be left behind in the dust of cities comparable to ours. That is not learning nor growing.
LOL, sorry there is just so much about what you said that is...not right i guess. Adding a balcony of seats behind home plate? HAHA, are you kidding me? Ok so assuming we are doing that, first let’s demolish the entire press box that was recently renovated and expanded. Then the Balcony...great. Ok now we have a 200ft tall press box at a BASEBALL FIELD! Come on…here is a better idea....tear the PEICE OF SH*T down. PLEASE! Also, the reason you dislike downtown is because just what you said "I never visit downtown". There’s plenty of fun downtown...don't be ignorant of it.
I am a recent transplant from St Louis. I came here three years ago on a job transfer. I have been coming to Omaha off and on for the past 15 or so years on business, etc. I have seen downtown transform from old and run down to somwhat of a real city. I work downtown and frequent the downtown establishments every weekday and sometimes travel from Elkhorn to downtown on weekends. Granted, the zoo is nice, have been there about 3 or 4 times, so, been there, done that. I have been to Rosenblatt for about 10 Royals games and one CWS championship game.
The stadium is OK but the bathrooms feel like an oven, the concourses are small and hot. I have been a Cardinals fan all my life and never thought Busch stadium should be replaced until I went to a game last year in the new Busch and WOW, what a place.
Face it, times change. Everything has to go eventually. A new stadium downtown would be a great thing and would most likely secure the CWS for many years to come. If Omaha were to lose that event, this town would die. It has been here for 50+ years and it belongs here but believe me, there are many other cities chomping at the bit to lure the CWS away from Omaha.
I am a recent transplant from St Louis. I came here three years ago on a job transfer. I have been coming to Omaha off and on for the past 15 or so years on business, etc. I have seen downtown transform from old and run down to somwhat of a real city. I work downtown and frequent the downtown establishments every weekday and sometimes travel from Elkhorn to downtown on weekends. Granted, the zoo is nice, have been there about 3 or 4 times, so, been there, done that. I have been to Rosenblatt for about 10 Royals games and one CWS championship game.
The stadium is OK but the bathrooms feel like an oven, the concourses are small and hot. I have been a Cardinals fan all my life and never thought Busch stadium should be replaced until I went to a game last year in the new Busch and WOW, what a place.
Face it, times change. Everything has to go eventually. A new stadium downtown would be a great thing and would most likely secure the CWS for many years to come. If Omaha were to lose that event, this town would die. It has been here for 50+ years and it belongs here but believe me, there are many other cities chomping at the bit to lure the CWS away from Omaha.
If you build it, they will stay...........
THANK YOU!
Finally someone sees this more rationally however I think Omaha is a big enough city it would never die because the loss of the CWS(doesn’t generate that much money to kill a city of almost 850,000 people) but yes it would be a huge loss.
I applaud Fahey and the city council for building the qwest center. Omaha needs to do more to attract and retain young, working professionals in this city. Having more entertainment venues can only help in this regard, but at the same time, the city's ambitions should not exeed it's ability to finance them.
We haven't paid off the Qwest center yet and there is still a possibility that property taxes may have to be raised to meet the glut in funding if the state doesn't step in. Given that the housing market is on a downward slope, increasing property taxes would have a debilitating effect on Omaha's growth.
I've heard estimates that a new stadium would cost anywhere between 79 to 200 million. Where's the money going to come from? So far, I've heard proposals to add 2 percent to the sales tax. What a great deal for retail bussinesses and restaraunt's in Bellevue, Council Bluff's and other surrounding area's that don't have to pay this tax! In addition to saving a little money,you can still smoke in Bellevue and Council Bluff's restaraunts.
I don't consider it much of a inconvieniance to drive 10 minutes to save a couple dollars on taxes. Especially for a big ticket item. Iowa already has lower state taxes and cheaper gasoline.
I'm not sure if people are weighing the questionable increase in revenue brought by building a new stadium against the immediate negative impact on local retail business in the city. We should allow the local economy to fully digest the improvements downtown before sinking more tax dollars into publicly funded projects into the area. The Qwest center, while a good idea, has not paid for itself and many of the new condiminiums built downtown are still empty.
Renovating Rosenblatt makes sense, economically it's a safer bet than building a new stadium. To me, the only justification of financing a multimillion dollar stadium would be to bring in a professional baseball or football team.
The tax is 2 cents on the dollar. Go to one CWS game at the Blatt. Cram your car in someone's yard only to receive door dings and witness public urination....not too mention walking through creepy neighborhoods and paying 10-50 dollars to park in that crap. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The parking money alone would cover that entertainment tax for a year without all the nasty stuff that goes with the Rosenblatt area.
The fact is, you will not notice any significant difference because of the tax while balancing your checkbook. All Omahans here is tax and they freak out.
I don't think any of us have studied the positive or negative effects of this but you know who has?.......Mayor Fahey and other civic leaders.
They're not asking for the shirt of your back; they are simply asking for a meager 2 cents on the dollar. COME ON! What part of the NCAA's suggestion for a new ballpark are we not hearing? Indianapolis and New Orleans could probably attract huge fan bases for the CWS and who’s gunning for it?....they are.
We are talking about 40million in annual revenues for a week long event. I can assure you the Mayor, Mayor's Staff and city council aren't pocketing that money, it is however being reinvested into the Omaha economy. You’re wrong, it's not a great deal for surrounding cities. They don't pay the tax but they sure don't receive the majority share of revenues from the CWS. In fact, moving it downtown would secure a larger portion for Omaha since they're are things to actually spend money on other than parking and beer. Renovations to Rosenblatt sound great and all but it doesn’t address the issues that were inevitable for Omaha and the CWS.
Also, I think I could speak for a lot of people saying I would much rather attend a Royals game downtown rather than Rosenblatt. Nobody goes to Royals games because there’s nothing else nearby to do. We can say we go to the zoo but that’s not true...the zoos hardly ever open during later Royals games.
What do condominiums have anything to do with this? They built too many, who cares. That’s private investment and they will have to deal with that until they can fill them. For the record, most of the downtown projects are doing very well.
Renovating Rosenblatt makes sense; economically it's a safer bet than building a new stadium?????? I'm guessing you said the same about the Quest.
Forget about any pro-teams in the foreseeable future. It's not like Omaha couldn't fill the stadium every game, hell people in Omaha are looking for an alternative to the daily visit to the Golden Corral. Omaha is a bad market for professional sports for many other reasons. Main sources of revenue for pro-sports aren’t ticket sales so much as marketing, media, paraphernalia sales and other endorsements.
One last thing, how does Omaha plan to subsidize the millions in revenue the CWS has generated for the last 57 years? The CWS revenues pay for more than hotdogs and pedestrian bridges. Think about it people.
Last edited by Steve_W; 10-05-2007 at 02:10 PM..
Reason: wasn't done complaining yet lol
No, we don't need to do this. It's a waste of money. There's no guarantee the college world series will continue to stay anyway. So far the private financing they have lined up is questionable at best, and we have extremely high taxes as it is.
I don't think one bit of construction would start till we get a signed contract from the NCAA securing the CWS here for years to come.
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OK, my time to chime in
