Downtown Stadium/ORoyals ownership change...????

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:31 pm

No one has said (or conclusively proved) that it is going to be more expensive to see the royals in the new stadium.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:40 pm

Swift wrote:No one has said (or conclusively proved) that it is going to be more expensive to see the royals in the new stadium.

No, but one of the reasons these stadiums are built is to "increase revenues". Since there are no plans in place, nothing is definite. But considering the location, it's probably more likely to be more expensive for the average fan.

Doesn't mean every fan. In an ideal world, if there were a streetcar that took you from a block from your house to the stadium, then to the Old Market, and then back home, it might be less.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:27 pm

Yeah, but they could increase revenues without being significantly more expensive. They'd do this by increasing their volume (more butts in the seats) which is exactly what they hope to do.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:07 am

the1wags wrote:I think what Cowboy is getting at isn't "I'm going to be seen at this event". I think it has a lot more to do with the atmosphere/venue of the event.

Exactamundo Josh and thank you..

I think most here get what I mean as it relates to Omahans attending an 'event' as it relates to this potential new north downtown ballpark..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

OmahaJaysCU · Post by **OmahaJaysCU** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:24 am

I spoke to my source today who told me that rumor about the stadium being a done deal, who I hadn't talked to in about a month, said things are being finished up (planning, financing, ect). He said it should just be a matter of months until we hear something...

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:44 am

OmahaJaysCU wrote:I spoke to my source today who told me that rumor about the stadium being a done deal, who I hadn't talked to in about a month, said things are being finished up (planning, financing, ect). He said it should just be a matter of months until we hear something...

That is great news. Thanks and I can't wait till I hear more. With this more things will fall into place over there.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:00 am

Thanks for the info/update OmahaJaysCU..

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:06 am

Funny huh. My grandfather used to go all the time, he always said he just enjoyed being outside, casually watching the game, while at the same time watching the people in the stands, the stuff going on off the field, in between innings, etc, he thought was just as entertaining. So, I think people do like to go to baseball games for more than just what's going on the field. I guess that's kind of silly though to some.

Yea, it is funny. Lighten up! That is called people watching - nothing wrong with that - but I was ribbing Cowboy for the way he stated his point as if was important to be seen.

redfield · Post by **redfield** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:26 am

I'm all for the new stadium, but I think its very important as we plan for a new stadium that we also plan for the future of rosenblatt stadium. The CWS has been a fixture in Omaha for years, and we have to be careful that building a new stadium doesn't leave rosenblatt neglected and eventually cost us the series. One proposal that I heard some time ago but have heard little about since was to build a college baseball hall of fame in the rosenblatt area to help keep the series here once rosenblatt loses what revenue the Royals did/do bring in. If we build the new stadium, I think we need to take a hard look at this idea, or others, or we risk losing the series at the end of the contract we have in place for the new few years.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:40 am

Well, they really only fix up Rosenblatt for the CWS.

And like numerous other people have said, look at Memorial Stadium it's never used more than a dozen times a year.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:09 pm

From today's W-H:

'Paradoxically, perhaps, the Royals think a smaller park would boost lagging attendance. The Royals' management contends that the team is ill-suited for Rosenblatt Stadium, which has 23,145 seats to accommodate the College World Series. The Royals' average paid attendance last season was 4,278, and that includes a lot of no-shows.

Fahey doesn't rule out city ownership of a second stadium. The Royals would hold a long-term lease and pay operating costs. Creighton University's baseball team would be a regular tenant.

The Nebraska Legislature might fill part of the gap with a rewritten version of the so-called Cabela's bill, Legislative Bill 500. As conceived last year, the bill was designed to attract Cabela's to Sarpy County.

Rosenblatt has grown substantially over the past 15 years, as about $34 million in public improvements were made to accommodate the College World Series.

But the trend in minor league baseball is toward smaller parks with family-friendly amenities. Such stadiums have boosted attendance in other cities from a third to more than double, Stewart said..'

The complete story link:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2100008

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

omahahawk · Post by **omahahawk** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:16 pm

Yes, Rosenblatt primarilly exists solely for the CWS at this point so I second the idea of college baseball hall of fame here. Great idea!

loyalomahan · Post by **loyalomahan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:22 pm

It looks like this downtown stadium movement is really picking up some steam. Creighton brought up again as a tenant? Surely some of their benefactors could throw some money towards this as well.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:33 pm

loyalomahan wrote: Creighton brought up again as a tenant? Surely some of their benefactors could throw some money towards this as well.

Agreed..

But I'm not holding my breath..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:16 pm

Read that article again. There is an estimated $25 million shortfall that needs to be addressed. If the city is going to kick in that $25 million, the City needs to get $25 million in benefits from it.

One idea that was proposed was to use the framework of last year's Cabela's bill to provide the necessary funds. However, the Royals aren't going to bring in the quanitity of tourists to make this reasonable. (We could use this idea to fund improvements to Rosenblatt, since the College World Series does bring in tourists.) You could probably make the argument that as an anchor, the stadium would lead to the development of an area and make the entire Omaha downtown area more of a tourist destination, but that's probably not enough to justify a $25 million investment for a ballpark.

ItsAllAboutMe · Post by **ItsAllAboutMe** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:43 pm

I believe this is going to happen. The benefits of this ball park at that location would be HUGE. It would clear out a blighted area and really speed up the development in this area. With the Saddle creek records project and the Tip Top project.

This must happen!!!

FatGuy · Post by **FatGuy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:13 pm

It would be huge. But a streetcar system would also be huge. The Omaha poll indicated more people would rather see the streetcar thing happening than the ballpark being built. I believe a streetcar would spur more development than a ballpark. I would hate to see the streetcar project fall by the wayside if a stadium is built.

Both projects are great, but shouldn't we be looking at opportunity cost?

nebport5 · Post by **nebport5** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:46 pm

I have a feeling would be investors are waiting for the LB 500 to pan out, which in that case would make this a done deal.

redfield · Post by **redfield** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:08 pm

And like numerous other people have said, look at Memorial Stadium it's never used more than a dozen times a year.

I don't think that ticket and concession sales during the season's 7 home games even come close to covering the budget for maintaining and upgrading Memorial stadium.

Most of it comes from licensing of husker stuff, through boosters, and donations to the program. I don't see Royals license plates all over town.

The reality is that if we don't plan out how we are going to not only maintain, but also continue to expand and improve Rosenblatt stadium without any revenue from the Royals, then we risk losing the CWS in 5-10-15 years as other cities continue to offer new stadiums and other incentives to entice the NCAA to move it.

I'm not saying it can't be done. Building a CWS hall of fame adjacent to the stadium is one good suggestion I have heard and would certainly help. Using the stadium as a large concert and other large scale event venue will also help. Using the stadium as a venue for high-school sporting events might help some. But if we simply take away all Royals revenue, and expect the CWS week to support the stadium by itself, we won't be able to compete with other cities long term.

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:24 pm

The reality is that if we don't plan out how we are going to not only maintain, but also continue to expand and improve Rosenblatt stadium without any revenue from the Royals, then we risk losing the CWS in 5-10-15 years as other cities continue to offer new stadiums and other incentives to entice the NCAA to move it.

Th irony is, the improvement and capacity increases that come from the Royals profits is the reason they want to leave. Lets face it, we upgrade the stadium to attract one event, and it's not for the Royals.

Should the Royals have to foot the bill on the maintenance of a 23,000 seat stadium when Royals games only attract 4,000 fans?

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:10 pm

redfield wrote:And like numerous other people have said, look at Memorial Stadium it's never used more than a dozen times a year.

I don't think that ticket and concession sales during the season's 7 home games even come close to covering the budget for maintaining and upgrading Memorial stadium.

Are you kidding me? Excluding student seats, the 70,000 seats sold at full price at an average of $45 a game for 7 games is over $22 million a year.

bradley414 wrote:Should the Royals have to foot the bill on the maintenance of a 23,000 seat stadium when Royals games only attract 4,000 fans?

A TV report last year said that the city maintains Rosenblatt, and the Royals pay $5,000 rent for the season. The Royals also get a large chunk of the concessions during all events at the stadium, including the CWS. The estimate was that the Royals are getting $500K from stadium operations.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:23 am

HskrFanMike wrote:
redfield wrote:And like numerous other people have said, look at Memorial Stadium it's never used more than a dozen times a year.

I don't think that ticket and concession sales during the season's 7 home games even come close to covering the budget for maintaining and upgrading Memorial stadium.
Are you kidding me? Excluding student seats, the 70,000 seats sold at full price at an average of $45 a game for 7 games is over $22 million a year.

Hey, don't forget the redicoulusly high priced concessions. $3 for a bottle of pop, and it's all over the place at the end of the game.

OmahaJaysCU · Post by **OmahaJaysCU** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:57 am

loyalomahan wrote:It looks like this downtown stadium movement is really picking up some steam. Creighton brought up again as a tenant? Surely some of their benefactors could throw some money towards this as well.

I'd expect Creighton to have the same relationship with a new stadium as they do with the Qwest Center. I have heard that CU/Royals have been building a nice relationship lately, so if this place gets buildt, I'd expect to see CU lease it, but not cough up any money for construction. They currently are working on funding a new 4-6,000 seat arena for volleyball and women's baseketball on campus North of Morrisson.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:40 am

Is ballpark reality or field of dreams?

BY C. DAVID KOTOK AND RICK RUGGLES
Omaha World Herald
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2100008

a new north downtown baseball park in April 2008 if a finance package for the up to $45 million complex comes together early this year.

No one has actually committed a dime toward construction. But Mayor Mike Fahey, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and the Omaha Royals are lobbying for state financial help. Fahey also has directed his staff to explore possible city contributions.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:19 am

That story link was already provided in a previous post on this thread (see pg 2)..

But thanks for posting the map adam

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:27 am

Wow, how could I miss that? I've been following all the threads and must have skimmed over it or something. Thanks Lou, and you welcome.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:46 am

adam-

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:51 am

When the stadium gets built, it will provide an excellent terminated vista!

nebraska dreamin' · Post by **nebraska dreamin'** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:54 pm

Wasn't one of the proposal's tossed out there (Maybe by Chef) that a hotel would be a part of the staduim design? Overlooking right or left field?

That would be awesome.

I would even go for apts or condos overlooking a ball field, but I don't know that the Royals would want that many places for people to watch for "free". Anyone know of a ballpark residential mixed use thingy anywhere? Is is feasible?

I think the opportunities for this stadium and the corresponding development are immense.

Make it happen now. (snaps fingers)

Now. (snaps)

How about...now. (you get the idea)

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:24 pm

nebraska dreamin' wrote:Make it happen now. (snaps fingers)

Now. (snaps)

How about...now. (you get the idea)

I'm working on it.

Seriously, I am. Next forum meet I will show and tell

.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:23 am

Yep, that was me. The design we saw a while back showed an "L" shaped hotel at the corner of 14th and Cuming, which would overlook part of the second base line coming into third base, and part of the third base line as it heads toward home plate. At that time I was told it would be an Extended Stay America, but who knows what might happen there.

mchine73 · Post by **mchine73** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:36 pm

Talked to Doug Stewart and he said 2008. All that's left is for "i"s and "t"s to be dotted and crossed.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:46 pm

I don't doubt it. Good to hear.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:00 pm

mchine73 wrote:Talked to Doug Stewart and he said 2008. All that's left is for "i"s and "t"s to be dotted and crossed.

As in ground breaking or an announcement or completion?

omahahawk · Post by **omahahawk** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:46 pm

pkiphd wrote:
mchine73 wrote:Talked to Doug Stewart and he said 2008. All that's left is for "i"s and "t"s to be dotted and crossed.
As in ground breaking or an announcement or completion?

Code: Select all

Cool, do you have any other details? ie: 2008 - first pitch?

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 5:20 am

Announcement in April or May of 2006, June at the very latest, with the first pitch thrown the home opener of 2008. So says my source.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:33 am

Thanks for the info..

This would be HUGE for north downtown..And a bigtime boost for the ORoyals..

Lets hope this comes to fruition..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:59 am

OmahaChef wrote:Announcement in April or May of 2006, June at the very latest, with the first pitch thrown the home opener of 2008. So says my source.

Do I smell a forum meet at the ballgame or what? I'm there, and bring your cameras!

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:03 pm

Very exciting stuff.