Royals'less Rosenblatt viable

[eomaha]

Rosenblatt future in cooling-off period
From the World Herald...

Want to make someone squirm? Ask about the future of Rosenblatt Stadium just before the start of the College World Series.

With the CWS set to start its annual run at the stadium Friday, Omaha's 56-year-old ballpark on the hill is still the community's signature sporting destination, likely the first thing that pops into the minds of sports fans around the country when discussing Omaha.

The park has undergone some $35 million in improvements since 1987 and is the source of considerable community pride.

Just over a year ago, the Omaha Royals sent shock waves through the community. They said the stadium's capacity, which has swelled to 24,000, made it hard for the minor league team - the stadium's primary tenants - to generate demand for tickets.

They said the city should look into building another, smaller stadium - one that could be shared among the Royals, Creighton and the University of Nebraska at Omaha - or one that could be smaller and yet somehow be expanded for the College World Series.

After generating plenty of vitriol for a couple of months, the Royals are keeping things quiet now, working behind the scenes instead of in the public eye. They formed the Omaha Baseball Council, with prominent local officials, and that group met several times before the current season started.

Right now, they say, it's a cooling-off period - no need to rile things up before the CWS.

"There's no urgency to make major changes in the near future," said Doug Stewart, the Royals' general manager. "But I think folks have come to realize there is a need in the long run - as well as an opportunity - to increase or enhance the facilities and the atmosphere, whether it's with a complementary facility or doing something with the current facility."

Should there ever be another baseball stadium in Omaha, would Rosenblatt Stadium remain viable, with its prime purpose to host the CWS?

More than likely.

The CWS is estimated to have an economic impact of $27 million to $33 million annually. Much of the funding came from a $2 hotel and motel tax.

Even if the Royals were playing elsewhere, a few college games could be played at the stadium in the spring. And, after the CWS, outdoor concerts might be possible.

"Personally, I think it would be OK," said Jesse Cuevas, the stadium superintendent. "I don't want to get into the political wrangling. But there are things we could do. We could probably fill in with some Creighton and Nebraska games. We could probably bid on the Missouri Valley and Big 12 tournaments.

"As long as we could shut the field down and get it regenerated, to put the bloom back on it before the Series."

UNO, a Division II program that has bounced around the city looking for a ballpark to call its own, has already expressed interest in being included in any new stadium plan. Like Creighton, it also has long-term plans for its own facility.

Are talks proceeding between the Royals and the two schools?

"We're still doing our due diligence," Stewart said.

The NCAA will continue holding the CWS at Rosenblatt through 2005, with an option to continue it through 2010. Renegotiations are under way and are scheduled to pick up - after the CWS. Both the NCAA and the City of Omaha have stated their desires to stay together, as long as everything keeps running smoothly.

The improvements thus far have been extensive.

A new press box. The stadium view club. New, improved and additional seating. New outfield bleachers with a covered grandstand. A rebuilt playing field for improved drainage. Outfield fences were moved in, and later moved back. A new entry plaza, new ticket booths and remodeled offices. New dugouts and remodeled clubhouses. New scoreboards. More and improved parking, including an area for recreational vehicles.

This year's addition is a $211,000 sound system, which was tweaked just last week as speakers were spread more evenly over the seating areas.

"Twenty years ago when we started, we thought if we got the field fixed and got some more seats, everybody was going to be happy," Cuevas said. "That was about $35 million ago.

"I think most of the things we've done have been quality things. They've held up. Sometimes you build something one way and it doesn't get used, because times and tides change."

[DTO Luv]

Its good to see that Rosenblatt would still be of use with a DT stadium. But what would we do if the NCAA wants a bigger stadium? A DT stdium would be nice, but the CWS is a much bigger draw than Royals or Creighton games. I think we should build a 35,000 seat park DT with seats the Royals don't need to be retractable somehow. This would leave Rosenblatts land avilable for the zoo, which is an even bigger draw, to develop. Why is it just now people are considering Rosenblatt for outdoor concerts.

[jays25ks]

I agree I think that a DT stadium would be awsome. However I could not imagine hosting the CWS in a differesnt place than blatt. I think that the Royals need to build a small 10-15,000 seat stadium dt with picnic areas, and other attractions that you see in newer ballparks. I imagine something much like hawks field in lincoln but aa little bigger. I still do see the posability for blatts existance (if a new stadium were built) through highschool tourneys, possibly the MVC and XII tourney as well as outdoor concerts. I have never understood why blatt has never had outdoor concerts. I think that it would be a sweet outfoor venue. But the likelyhood of sharing the dt stadium with cu would be slim. I believe that a new bball stadium was in creightons master redevelopment plan released last year. But it seems very likely that UNO would share the venue if it is to happen. I kno this name hasn't been thrown out ther but mabe even Bellevue university. Heck, their bball team has been in their leagues CWS many times.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

I agree with the article.

I think a new downtown north stadium could definitely co-exist with the Blatt. It would be really cool if there was a downtown stadium area, with cool night spots and residential developments surrounding it, where Creighton, the Royals, and UNO could play. I think it would be really festive and super cool.

Meanwhile, I think the Blatt could definitely get by with just the CWS and some outdoor concerts.

But.....devil's advocate......I wouldn't really mind seeing a brand new full size stadium, with swing/collapsable/retractable/whatever-you-want-to-call-it seats so that EVERY big baseball event could be there, including the CWS. I know the Blatt's got the history and all, but it's not like it's a good-looking ballpark. It's away from downtown, it's completely non-integrated with the surrounding areas and neighborhoods. I think it would do better as expansion space for the zoo, and we could have a great, large ball park downtown. And just think, all the THOUSANDS of visitors to Omaha for the CWS would actually get really great exposure to the city, because they'd be RIGHT downtown for all the games.

Who knows? If we build a large stadium downtown, and sometime in the next 20 years it becomes feasable for Omaha to get an MLB team, Omaha might have actually built something right the first time. Woudn't that be somethin'?

[eomaha]

Let's leave the CWS at Rosenblatt... it's history is as important a part of its coming to Omaha every year... as anything.

It certainly will continue to be in demand hosting Royals games where the larger capacity is required... 'the' fireworks game is a no brainer. But there are also special event nights, such as this insurance night which brought in over 16,000... UNLvsCreighton, other marquee games, etc, etc.

I'd build the downtown stadium to seat somewhere in the neighborhood of 14-15,000 (OKC's Bricktown... a beautiful park and surrounding area... seats 13,000)... plenty for Royals games... Creighton, UNO, etc... along with those concerts.

Back to Rosenblatt... leave this historic venue intact... and turn our attention to the surrounding neighborhood. Let's make this area a destination beyond the zoo/stadium. As I've said before... a 'Rain Forest' type cafe... along with an ESPN Sportszone... with some retail of its own would make this area a real draw. There's no reason why it should be devoid of people after the zoo closes. Downtown is off and running... let's put a little focus on the surrounding areas as well. It's not as if areas like this are suburban wastelands. There's some history in areas like this worth preserving (ala South Omaha, Benson, Midtown, etc).