Future of the State Fair in Lincoln

[Coyote]

Governor not behind plans to move State Fair

Plans to move the Nebraska State Fair from the site where it has been held for more than a century could face a roadblock — the governor. While stopping short of total opposition to a move proposed by a group of business and civic leaders in Lincoln, Gov. Dave Heineman on Monday suggested for the first time publicly that he is leaning against dislodging the fair. He said when voters in 2004 passed a constitutional amendment that directs $2 million a year to the fair in lottery proceeds, they did so with the understanding the fair would be at State Fair Park, the fair’s current location. Heineman’s comments came a day before a legislative committee was scheduled to hold hearings on two bills that could help lay the groundwork for a move.

[Dfresh]

Here's an idea...get rid of the state fair- shut it down!
How many people really go to this anyway?

[nebugeater]

Here's an idea...get rid of the state fair- shut it down!
How many people really go to this anyway?

289,683 in the gates in 2006.

http://www.beatricedailysun.com/article ... /news5.txt


Not great but nothing to sneeze at either.  Maybe we should cancel an event that brings 1/4 of a million people through the gates in Omaha, many from out of town, and see if you still want to close up shop.

[Dfresh]

wow more then i thought...I still think they should move so that the area around the Devaney Center could be developed by Univ. or Private...North east Lincoln or something

[nebugeater]

wow more then i thought...I still think they should move so that the area around the Devaney Center could be developed by Univ. or Private...North east Lincoln or something

Moving it is a definite option.  The thought of just shutting it down is wrong in my book.  Let, as a state, figure out how to make this a go to event and grow it into something to be proud of.

[CapitalGuy]

UNL's vision for the State Fairgrounds taking shape

Perlman has plenty of ideas: If UNL acquires the fairgrounds, he might consider, for instance, preserving the 4-H and Industrial Arts buildings and using them for academic pursuits. He’d also like to bring restaurants and shops to the area and add student recreational space he feels would be key to future recruiting.

Perlman, other NU leaders and 2015 Vision members say the fairgrounds are critical to UNL’s future. State Fair Park, they say, would serve as an ideal link between City and East campuses and could be a home for university-business partnerships that would create jobs and boost Nebraska’s economy.

And undecided is the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee, which ordered a study on what would make an “ideal” fair and the costs of keeping the fair where it is versus moving it, possibly to the Lancaster Event Center at 84th Street and Havelock Avenue. Kearney, Grand Island and Sarpy County have expressed interest, too.

Perlman and other NU leaders would like to model the fairgrounds after Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University, a 1,300-acre, two-decades-old research park that has brought in thousands of faculty and students and boasts amenities including a fishing pier, condos and a middle school for the area’s brightest math and science students.

[Coyote]

Consulting firm reveals cost of ideal state fairgrounds

For an estimated $174.6 million, Nebraska could build a state-of-the-art state fairgrounds, a consultant told state lawmakers Monday. But whether the state could afford, needs or wants to spend that much to move the State Fair to make way for a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research park clearly was a debatable issue after the report was presented to the Legislature's Agriculture Committee. The ideal state fairgrounds would be made up of 450 acres — 200 acres larger than the existing fairgrounds — and have 300,000 residents within a 30-mile radius, Forkner said.

Omaha touted as prime fair site

Omaha hasn't publicly shown interest in hosting the Nebraska State Fair, but the state's largest city should, says a State Fair Board member who's a former chairwoman of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. "It's an economic development opportunity," said Linda Lovgren, the Omaha representative on the Fair Board. Lovgren, who runs a marketing company and served as the Omaha Chamber's volunteer chairwoman four years ago, said the Omaha area has the population base that is important to the State Fair.

The city also has several organizations that could become "partners" in attracting and utilizing a new fairgrounds, she said.
Two of the country's most successful state fairs, Iowa and Minnesota, are located in those states' largest metropolitan areas, she noted. "I'm sure Omaha is going to be interested in finding out what the opportunities are," Lovgren said in an interview after the Fair Board held its monthly meeting Friday at Qwest Center Omaha.

[icejammer]

Two of the country's most successful state fairs, Iowa and Minnesota, are located in those states' largest metropolitan areas, she noted.

Hmmm, and the largest metros in both those states happen to hold the State Capitol.  It would be interesting if the State Fair moved to Omaha (though where is the $64,000, or in this case, the $175 million question), but I would expect fierce opposition from out-staters on any move out of Lincoln, unless it's in a westerly direction.

[DTO Luv]

I think the fair should be in Omaha just because we are the main population center in the state. Plus we could also draw from Iowa and probably even South Dakota. I don't know where the fair would fit but I would be glad to have it. Plus it wouldn't kill a few of the outstaters to come to Omaha for once. A gangsters stray bullet will do that.

[Brad]

There was a proposal or a group in the past that wanted to move it to Grand Island which would not be a bad option.  Grand Island is only 2 hours and 15 Min away  Just like Omaha needs all its part to be health, the state needs all its parts to be healthy.  Stealing an event with a rural feel and moving it to the big city is not the best for all.  While it would me nice to get that extra money, it would be better off centrally located in the state.

[Big E]

I'd be more than happy to give Grand Island the state fair, or Kearney, or any other decent sized community that could support it.

The only caveat is they have to host River City Round-Up as well.

-Big E

[Coyote]

No surprising results - but an OWH poll:

Do you think the Nebraska State Fair should build a new, "ideal" fairgrounds for an estimated $174.6 million?

•  Yes.   (310)
•  No.  (1344)
•  I have no opinion. (63)

[Brad]

After seeing the OWH pole, I added one to this thread.

[Swift]

I'd say give it to Grand Island or Kearney. I feel like Lincoln has grown beyond the state fair and that was part of the reason it was languishing in recent years. Also, this state needs another 100,000+ metro...not that this would do it by it self, but it might help.

[Linkin5]

I'd say give it to Grand Island or Kearney. I feel like Lincoln has grown beyond the state fair and that was part of the reason it was languishing in recent years. Also, this state needs another 100,000+ metro...not that this would do it by it self, but it might help.

totally agree.

[Coyote]

Fixing up fairgrounds would cost $30.8 million

Fixing up the aging fairgrounds and Thoroughbred track would cost about $30.8 million, a figure considerably lower than expected. The consultants last month estimated that building a new fairgrounds at a different location would cost $174.6 million. Supporters of keeping the State Fair where it is and proponents of moving it to make way for a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research park differed on what conclusions could be drawn from the two cost estimates.

[Erik]

We should have 1 state fair called the 'nebraska state fair' in Ashland, right between Omaha and Lincoln...

and then we should have the 'outstate fair' in Kearney...

[Coyote]

Fair Board to push renovation

Nebraska State Fair officials say their operation would, over time, be able to finance $30 million in State Fair Park renovations, as suggested this week by a consultant. State Fair Board members Friday began planning a presentation they will make to a legislative committee that's looking at whether the fairgrounds should be turned into a research park affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. State Fair Board member Tam Allan of Lincoln, chairman of the board's master-plan revision committee, said the fair has the money to renovate the fairgrounds and replace some of its aging exhibit halls in stages.

[CapitalGuy]

Nebraska Innovation Park

The plans are bold: Dubbed Nebraska Innovation Park, they boast 1.6 million gross square feet of developed space, including 17 buildings dedicated at least partially to research, recreational space to boot and a large pond where the fair’s racetrack now sits.

And they make one thing clear: University leaders aren’t wavering in the least in their belief that the best use of the 251-acre fairgrounds is a research campus, a development, they say, that would stimulate Nebraska’s economy and create numerous new jobs.

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[edsas]

Keep it somewhere in Lancaster County, but move it away from the existing fair grounds so UNL can build that kick |expletive| research park they envision.

[Louie]

yeah that research park is a no brainer, however i wouldnt mind it leaving lancaster...gi or kearney would be fine with me

[Brad]

Group to offer more than $50 million if State Fair will move

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10209261

LINCOLN - A group of local businessmen and other donors is prepared to give the State Fair tens of millions of dollars to abandon the fairgrounds property so the University of Nebraska-Lincoln can build a research park on the land.

The group will up the ante this morning after a presentation to the Legislature's Agriculture Committee proposing that the State Fair move to an east Lincoln location.

Terry Fairfield and Dick Campbell, two members of the group known as 2015 Vision, confirmed that the group and its allies are now prepared to give the State Fair far more than the $6 million in moving costs originally promised.

Two people who have seen the proposal said the group will offer the State Fair more than $50 million, some from the 2015 Vision group, some from other donors and some in the form of bonds.

[Candleshoe]

...and in another State Fair development:

Highlights from http://www.theindependent.com/stories/1 ... ws20.shtml follow:

While many questions remain about the Nebraska State Fair's future in Lincoln, a delegation of Nebraska State Fair board members were impressed by what they saw Wednesday during a visit to Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island.

One of the advantages Grand Island has over other possible sites for relocating the State Fair, (Tam) Allan said, is that much of that infrastructure is already in place at Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center.

"The Heartland Events Center, in my opinion, would be more suited for our State Fair than the Devaney Center," he said. "The Devaney Center is quite a large facility and its use to us is limited only to the 10 days of the State Fair."

Allan said the Heartland Events Center is more "workable and modern."

He said he was also impressed by the barns and livestock areas located at Fonner Park.

"They are substantial upgrades on buildings that we have," Allan said.

He said that State Fair Executive Director Barney Cosner, a recognized national authority on State Fairs, was also impressed at that he saw at Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center.

"He got more excited with each of the buildings that he saw out there," Allan said.

Allan said the Nebraska State Fair is committed to the state's agricultural industry and in making the State Fair a showcase for agriculture.

[Linkin5]

I say if it is between the State fair moving and UNL getting a new technology park then you can have the fair GI.

[Erik]

Neither city can lose with that!

Lincoln:  Research Park > 10(State Fair)

Grand Island: State Fair > 10(Passer bys on the way to the State Fair)

Neither city can lose!

[Coyote]

Heck - in my opinion they can close down the state fair and give the land to UNL for the research park. But it sounds like Fonner Park may be a good option.

[edsas]

Lincoln Mayor to offer alternative sites to State Fair.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/doc47 ... 643690.txt

During a Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday, Beutler said there’s an “unwritten understanding” that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will get the state fairgrounds for a research and development corridor, but he wants to make sure the city doesn’t lose the State Fair altogether.

[Big E]

I say we put the state fair in a relocated Rosenblatt on Lot D, which in turn will be relocated to the UP land north of Abbot, which in turn will be sold to the new Iowa casino in Carter Lake, which in turned will be renamed Dumb|copulate|land.  

Complete with a water tower.

-Big E

[CapitalGuy]

Beutler offers 8 potential Lincoln State Fair Sites

The mayor of Lincoln offered eight alternative locations for the State Fair during a meeting Tuesday, but none of them wowed the State Fair representative to whom he pitched them.

Since the State Fair Board isn’t interested in sharing the Lancaster Event Center on 84th Street, Mayor Chris Beutler pitched eight other possibilities to State Fair Board representative Tam Allan.

* Two farms in the area between Adams and Fletcher streets at about 112th Street.

* A 200-acre site at South 84th Street and Yankee Hill Road that had been designated as a future park. The city bought it with a $600,000 donation for park land from Dale and Karen Jensen about a dozen years ago.

* Three sites west of the airport, two of them privately owned and the other in Airpark West, an 800-acre industrial area near Interstate 80 and Northwest 48th Street.

* Land adjacent to the city landfill, to the west.

* The 250-acre site of a proposed shopping center called Southwest Village that’s on hold at U.S. 77 and West Denton Road. This site has previously been proffered by the developer.

“If the fair were to relocate, the Grand Island Fonner Park relocation site would still clearly be the least expensive relocation site because of all of the existing amenities,” Allan said.

I think if the State Fair grounds are handed over to UNL the State Fair is GI's for the taking. Which is ok, some of the statewide events should be spread around to more than just Lincoln and Omaha.

[Candleshoe]

Cindy Johnson, president of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce, said Grand Island officials are putting together numbers detailing the cost advantages of moving the fair there.

The statewide economic impact of the fair has been estimated at nearly $28 million. Johnson said Grand Island folks are cautiously optimistic about their shot at reaping that bounty.

“The road from Grand Island to Lincoln is much shorter than the road from Lincoln to Grand Island,” she said.

Interesting point of view about the lack of willingness of Lincolnites to drive west. The same was said last week by a NSAA official in regards to why the state volleyball tournament would stay in Lincoln for at least two more years. To paraphrase his reasoning... small town Nebraska will lock up the town and go wherever their kids are playing... Lincoln and Omaha don't.

[Big E]

small town Nebraska will lock up the town and go wherever their kids are playing... Lincoln and Omaha don't.

And small town Nebraska obviously has the population and facilities to handle the big state events, completely unlike Lincoln and Omaha.

-Big E

[almighty_tuna]

small town Nebraska will lock up the town and go wherever their kids are playing... Lincoln and Omaha don't.

And small town Nebraska obviously has the population and facilities to handle the big state events, completely unlike Lincoln and Omaha.

-Big E

Heartland Expressway - duh!

[Candleshoe]

From the LJS  http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/d ... 157184.txt

At least four of the eight members of the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee regard Grand Island as the best site for the Nebraska State Fair if it moves from Lincoln’s State Fair Park.

Along the way, Gov. Dave Heineman has been providing his perspective. Heineman reportedly told the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday the fair appears headed for Grand Island.

“I think the state fair is an anachronism,” he (Ernie Chambers) said, “but if it is to have any relevance, it should be somewhere other than where it is now.”

[almighty_tuna]

I'm very interested in seeing how well the fair does its first 5yrs in GI.  If/when it goes, UNL better be making some world-class impressive things happen in that space!

[Erik]

I think this whole thing is in the better benefit of both Lincoln and GI and even Nebraska in general..

Lincoln gets a research park worth more than a billion dollars, and GI will get a statewide event, both cities gain bigtime!

Grand Island is very close to being considered a metropolitan area and would be our third 'true' (not counting Sioux City) in the state with a growing Kearney and Hastings very close by...

For the state, there cannot be a better scenario..

[Ingersoll1978]

I would assume that if the state fair moves to Grand Island, it will see significant decreases in attendance.  

Look at where the three most successful state fairs are:

Texas State Fair (3 million over 24 days)  :  Dallas, TX
Minnesota State Fair (2 million over 11 days)  :  St. Paul, MN
Iowa State Fair (1 million over 10 days)  :  Des Moines, IA

I've been to both the Minnesota and Iowa fairs and they are both awesome and fun.  My partner went to the Texas one last year (yes...he went to all of the big three)...and he was  MAJORLY disappointed.  He said it was nothing like MN or IA's.  

Having it in an urban area is a must!  Otherwise, it'll end up having 150,000 like SD's and other states and die out.  The only move that would make sense is to Omaha...but it really should stay in Lincoln, the state capital.

[DTO Luv]

The only time I've been to the state fair recently was last year or two when I decided to go down and see Kansas (the band) play. Had the fair been in GI I would have never thought to go on a weeknight. That's a point I think is being missed is that many casual fans won't frequent. I may not want to go to the whole fair but some parts. They will miss out on many walk up attendees.

[Candleshoe]

I suspect the real money to be made is from the vendors and exhibitors, which are only a fraction of what they used to be, and not the few bucks a head admission. Especially when all the concerts are free, anymore.
What the Lincoln and Omaha folks want in a state fair is a bigass carnival and lots of concerts. Big whoop.

[Brad]

Nebraska Legislature may consider moving state fair to Grand Island

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10297682

LINCOLN – A legislative committee was expected to advance a proposal this afternoon that would make Grand Island the new home of the Nebraska State Fair.

The fair has been held in Lincoln since 1901.

"If that’s where the Legislature wants us to go, that’s where we’ll go. We’re just the managers," said Jerry Fitzgerald of Gering, president of the State Fair Board.

The Legislature, which concludes its current session April 17, would have to advance any fair proposal through three rounds of debate and earn a signature from Gov. Dave Heineman.

A move to Grand Island would expand the exhibition facilities at Fonner Park and clear the way for State Fair Park in Lincoln to become a site for research and development facilities affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

A group of Lincoln business leaders for the past 1 1/2 years has been campaigning to move the fair to open up the 251-acre fairgrounds for "Innovation Park," a complex of public-private research facilities similar to those that now exist on the former Ak-Sar-Ben grounds in Omaha.