Gretna Goodlife District

[Bob from Omaha]

My recollection is that there was a mall proposed for southport west but Oak View beat them to the punch.

I wonder what would have become of that mall if it had beaten Oak View. Would it be dying now instead?

[Brad]

My recollection is that there was a mall proposed for southport west but Oak View beat them to the punch.

I wonder what would have become of that mall if it had beaten Oak View. Would it be dying now instead?

Southport west wasn't constructed until 2005, Oakview was built around 1990?

[Bob from Omaha]

My recollection is that there was a mall proposed for southport west but Oak View beat them to the punch.

I wonder what would have become of that mall if it had beaten Oak View. Would it be dying now instead?

Southport west wasn't constructed until 2005, Oakview was built around 1990?

I misspoke. A bit before Oak View was announced a shopping mall was proposed in the general area of southport

[MadJack]

If I remember correctly, it was a race to see which mall would move forward first. Oakview won, I always thought the Southport area would have been a much better place for a mall with the freeway access/visibility.

[zedmib]

Iirc the Southport area mall project was called Five Fountains. Similar 'L' shaped mall to Oak View with five anchor stores and as big as the Westroads. The city of Omaha was worried about a loss of sales tax revenue so Oak View was pushed.

[Bob from Omaha]

Iirc the Southport area mall project was called Five Fountains. Similar 'L' shaped mall to Oak View with five anchor stores and as big as the Westroads. The city of Omaha was worried about a loss of sales tax revenue so Oak View was pushed.

From October 15, 1986:

[Garrett]

Good find. Another interesting "what if" scenario. I definitely think it would have pushed more growth into Sarpy county compared to West O, and may have even killed out Westroads in the long run.

[BD PC Omaha]

That is something. If it would have been built all of the industrial in that area would have went elsewhere and it would have be tough to develop the Outlet Mall.

[djc311]

You know with Rod Yates having all of his whack-a-doodle ideas, I don't understand why he doesn't simply partner with established groups to try and make things happen. For example, if he really thinks an amusement park could happen, why not get Six Flags, Adventureland, Universal, etc involved? The one that opened in Iowa off by itself is probably going to end up closing. I've not heard anyone (aside from a few posts on here) that wants to take a trip to visit.

Maybe it's because he's too involved in getting the NHL in Omaha (LOL).

Sorry to be Negative Nancy, but his downsized idea still isn't going to happen and he does NOT deserve special incentives or breaks to develop something like this.

[omaha79]

You know with Rod Yates having all of his whack-a-doodle ideas, I don't understand why he doesn't simply partner with established groups to try and make things happen. For example, if he really thinks an amusement park could happen, why not get Six Flags, Adventureland, Universal, etc involved? The one that opened in Iowa off by itself is probably going to end up closing. I've not heard anyone (aside from a few posts on here) that wants to take a trip to visit.

Maybe it's because he's too involved in getting the NHL in Omaha (LOL).

Sorry to be Negative Nancy, but his downsized idea still isn't going to happen and he does NOT deserve special incentives or breaks to develop something like this.

Everything I've read about amusement parks is that they are tough to make a go of even in the best economic environment. They aren't as popular as they once were. There's been so much consolidation in the industry, to the point where it's really Six Flags and Disney running most of the major parks in the United States. Sure, there are some one offs remaining, but most are smaller and have been there for decades. The amount of capital to build something from the ground up has to be astronomical. Even Worlds of Fun was having all sorts of issues last year with fights to the point where they basically went to a no unaccomponied minors policy as people down there were saying parents were just treating it as daycare and dropping their kids off unsupervised. But, this generation is bolder with less fear of consequences and simple societal rules that they are more apt to act the fool.

I feel like the golden age of the amusement park was really the 50's to 80's. You're just not seeing many opening and way more closing. And, the age of relatively affordable flights make full on amusement parks a destination vacation scenario, not as much of a regional weekend draw as they used to be.

[nativeomahan]

Very well put.

[OmahaOmaha]

Amusement parks were great before cell phones came along. People have gotten weird. They move around theme parks like zombies, more focused on their phones than the park itself. Watch old videos of people visiting amusement parks before cell phones. People were much more engaged with each other and having a good time with family and friends.