" Awesome, this is what Lincoln needs, not some tired stupid drag strip. Will still be hard for the blue-hairs to grasp and get over the fair thing, but unless Lincoln wants to be a retirement town, this is what we need to grow. "

" Of everything discussed to promote growth in Lincoln, this idea is the one that actually makes some sense and seems doable. But, you need to find a home for the State Fair and even if put on the "fast track", this will take a decade or more to come to fruition given Lincoln's political and business climate. If this were Grand Island, Columbus, Omaha or Seward, etc. This would get done in less than 3 years. "

" Who cares if they move the state fair across the city, as long as it isn't moved to a hick town the size of Grand Island or Kearney. Besides... UN-L could use the space, and I don't see any negative in letting the largest University in the state expand. "

" move the fair. Research matters more than apple pies and quilts "

" East Campus generates more research grant dollars than city campus and there is certainly room to grow in that direction. Why not focus on revitalizing the 33rd and Holdrege area rather than to demolish the State Fair Grounds? Perlman seems way too worried about how this makes him look rather than making the best choice for Nebraskans. "

" why not build where the city of lincoln (who is broke) is taking down buildings and use the dead downtown area for these unl projects maybe that way some of the attraction (bars and more bars) will become less helping a second lincoln problem. this way lincoln could save part of downtown "

" UNL is sitting on a gold mine in all the patents and technologies they have. Everyone knows MIT but UNL is a nobody, but they both have the same amount of technology coming out of it. The difference, is MIT pushes out that technology and UNL sits on it because there is no one to do anything with it. This research corridor is needed badly, but if they start at O street and work North it will be a while before they reach the State Fair. Also, East Campus is Ag research, and the land that they use is priceless, especially for the state as a whole. "

" I remember back in the 60's & 70's, the university had plans of growing east along Vine street and eventually merging with the East campus. Why don't they revitalize that plan? Why else do you think there were some Greek houses built east of campus along Vine and also with the Beadle Center? That makes more sense and would be cheaper 2 ways. It would save the cost of buying land and moving the State Fair and also it would revitalize the corridor between Holdrege and Vine east to the East Campus. Most of the housing now in that area are rentals rented to college students. Besides, if the university took over the fair grounds, would you want to take classes next the the water treatment plant and Salt Creek that borders the fair grounds? I know I wouldn't. "

" Proximity of housing and the University make the area west of Haymarket a great place for developmet of this technology quest. Why aren't the city and UNL looking at something other than baseball fields for that empty space? "

" Research shows the importance of: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! A Research corridor might begin where the west bypass meets I80, there is a proximity to hundreds of thousands of drivers, Omaha and a prime real estate location that should show the Vision of our State in Research. Existing suggestions and the fairground envy are falling short of using intelligence and knowledge. Omaha and Lincoln need to find common ground, the most eastern part of the city might better develop free from underlying problems assocoated with the old school. "

" Get rid of the fair!!! That is the worst thinbg about Lincoln they dont want to have great performers that say explicit lyrics or race tracks or beer at concerts or anything to help make money they would rather keep a red neck gathering that you can see everyone from every small town in Nebraska you've never heard of. PLOW IT DOWN you can show your goats and cows out on 84th and Havelock and drive to KC or Iowa to ride some real rides. "

" This is the same old story UNL has used for all the expansion they have ever done. They cry we have no room give us this land and everyone bends over and gives it up. Any one with 2 eyes can see there is plenty of land to the west of city campus for expansion if they just do it right. Even if UNL wants to go north wouldn't it be cheaper and a better more visable location right along I-180. I am sure that no one wants to stop and think about the history that the state fair park has given and continues to give residents of this entire state. Whats history worth anyway, lets just get rid of all the landmarks in and around Lincoln in the name of progress. "

" First of all, UNL does not have as much technology coming out of it as MIT does! MIT is MIT and UNL is not comparable to MIT. That said, UNL is very good and this is recognized in the "business". A layman may not recognize that fact, but those "in the know" do and that's what matters. Finally, patents are not always the best route for research professors and departments in a university setting. In many cases a research group will partner up with a large tech company, say HP or Intel, and work cooperatively on a project. The control of the patent ultimately goes to the company and the benefit to the research professor is a nice chunk a money to fund current and future research. Certainly, there are situations where a "spin off" company works and is a great situation, but that is not always the case! I am certainly in support of the research corridor, but don't be delusional about the outcome. It'll help the brain drain, but Lincoln will not turn into Silicon Valley because of it. "

" While UNL isn't an MIT or CalTech, it also does not receive the federal grants those institutions receive from Defense. Defense drives research and it may benefit Nebraska to have Nelso on Armed Services, the breadth and depth of Defense funds remains less than what citizens should expect. UNL can do better in patent applications and co ventures with industry leaders is realistic...but that requires leadership that is able to establish high level relations and have support of the Unicameral to match funding. Has government provided a structure to reap rewards of ethanol production, as Alaska has with oil? If so, your property taxes may go down, if not, why not? "

" This should be the highest priority - creating a stimulating environment near campus that attracts and keeps the best and brightest... For my two cents, this should be matched by a serious state commitment to $ to fund alternative energy from the Plains - Wind, sun and biofuels -- that is where the future Fed. dollars will go and an impressive research facility / campus on this decrepit site will position us to get our FAIR share (pun intended). "

" Let's see, we pay college professors to do research, then we let them create companies to secure patent rights to their work, then they and their companies reap the benefits, meanwhile we employ TA's and Grad Students to do the actual classroom work. So a good answer is to shove the state fair into oblivion and 'give' the university the space so we can create a technology park spawning businesses that create jobs that pay a great wage for the students that are taught by other students and this must be done instead of building a drag strip. It could be I don't understand the economics of paying somebody to do research so they can then enrich themselves if they happen to get lucky enough to make or discover something. I have started three business and employ over 400 people in the US. I wonder if I had gone to a research university (I graduated from UNL, but obviously when it was an impoverished teaching university) how many more people I could be employing and how many more ideas I could have come up with. Is there a program where I can apply and have the State of Nebraska fund all of my work and research and pay me then let me go when I am ready to spin the business off? "

" Maybe a fly in the ointment of returns to the State on investment is the stance top leaders have on intellectual rights and there is not an ideology supporting ROI for the public. It is both a shame and sham the rewards of discovery are not reaped by the public whoo has a vested interest in the income potentially derived from patents and products of its faculty. "

" The young replace the old... such is life. I may be wrong but it seems to me that the State Fair IS history. If it were so important to Nebraska's identity it would not have fallen into the state of disrepair we currently see. How can such real-estate be allowed to go unused 11 months out of the year? If you would like to see those precious tax dollars the Gov talks about in use just wait by the bus stop at the horse track and watch the checks get cashed in the name of un-holy gambling! My friends still dress up like trash and go the fair. While that may seem immature, the point is the place is a joke. Drugged out Carnies or research facilities...I can't decide! Nebraska is not MIT to be certain and while that may not be a bad thing, the state needs a new identity. But hey, now that I'm a Florida resident I'll be sure to catch the Huskers next time they're in the Orange Bowl. (No state income tax, real consumer rights, etc.) "

" "bug in the works" is wrong. Any patents created while working on research paid for by the university belong to the university. "

" Isn't this what the property up in the Highlands area was supposed to do? If it didn't work there, why will it suddenly work at the fair grounds. Move the state fair to Grand Island. The rest of the state appreciates it more than Lincoln. "

" Lincoln is a parasite on the taxes of the rest of the state. If it can't be bought with state taxes, or UNL money, or TIF, then Lincoln can't fathom getting private business to invest here. If they can't attract private investment now, this research park will only develop technologies that will end up being used in California or Texas or New Jersey. Get Real Lincoln. "

" Can we please come up with ideas that don't require the government to confiscate more money from us? Verizon is investing in our town. The guy with the drag strip wants to invest in our town. Research is important for the future, but it won't bring in the hundreds of jobs that are needed for middle class workers to raise a family. The local government, civic leaders and chamber of commerce are failing us. We pay their salaries in many cases. They owe us by doing a better job. Get the companies that will benefit from the research to pay for the research park. Don't we alreay have Technology Park up north of I-80 by the Highlands? If this were really going to work, wouldn't we already have that place filled up? "

" Under the Nebraska statutues you would be correct, however there are bypass provisions that make that untrue. Look at all the work done on east campus-enough to fund the entire University and make tuition free for all instate students yet none of the money flowed to the university because it went to the discoverers who then sold it to commercial interests. Look at MIT and other research sites-look at U of Wisconsin where a Nebraska trained physician has patented surgical tools that to do not profit the university. If the statutes were followed you are correct, they are not therefore you are incorrect. "

" Why can't this all co-exist on the same land? The Devaney Center has been on the fairgrounds for years. The athletic complex has been used for fair entertainment in the past without much problem. Why can't university buildings, research facilities, incubator businesses, recreation, and housing all be built on the fairgrounds AND keep the fair right there too? Remove the fences, give the buildings to the fair during the fair, use for exposition space year round, use for university research year round, use for university classes year round, and so on. Tear down, expand, or remodel all of the fair buildings. The university could use the exposition space for symposiums and meetings when the fair isn't being held. Upstairs in new or remodeled fair buildings, could be research space and offices for the university. What better way for the university to show the whole state what the university does than during the state fair? It would provide a working campus that would be great PR for UN-L. They could have permanent working exhibits that the public could tour in these fair buildings that are run by the university. Build a permanent midway for amusement park rides, scattered through all of this. You could ride a roller coaster during the summer, go see an scientific demonstration at one of the University research buildings on the fair park campus, take a half-day class in a new fair educational center complex, and then go to sleep over on a quieter side of the fairgrounds in your brand new loft a few floors above some university offices. We have to get away from all of these single-use facilities that waste space with acres of asphalt around them that generate nothing but more parking space. Build the largest parking garages the state has ever seen on fair property and use the ground floor of them for convenience stores, laundromats, entertainment, shopping, and office space. Build a high-density multiple use facility that every group could use: University, fair, city government, county government, state government, private businesses, technology development, amusement park, and still have land left over for recreation. "

" I have noticed that in reading some of the replies to this article that it is clear some of the people have no clue what the fair is about nor have they took the time to attend and experence it. The fair is much more then quilts and apple pies. You can have a beer and listen to big name entertainment, walk a half a block and watch races or monster trucks. The fair park is not just about the state fair, it is used year round by different organizations and events. If you don't like the State Fair that is fine, but if you don't go don't pretend to know what is going on or know what it is about. Take some time and learn about what the fair really has to offer the population of this entire stae and not just the city of Lincoln or UNL. Maybe it is time Pearlman and the city of Lincoln listen to the saying "look west young man look west" I think West campus has a good ring. I guess that the state fair park must have better land then east campus, I guess all that grass land and piles of trees and braches on the east side of east campus must be on toxic ground, can't build there can you UNL. "

" the fair and UN-L can coexist together. the NU system is primarily a Land Grant University so It would make sense that the Fai and univeristy can exsist together. Look at Ak Sar Ben in Omaha. The AK has a soccer field, houses FDResources, The College Of Saint Mary's, the PKI which is a collaboration between UN-L and UN-O, a shopping center (the Shoppes at Aksarben Village, plans for a new arena and new townhomes and condos on the adjacent Chilli Greens south of Center all surrounded by Omaha's Elmwood Park and on the Happy Hollow Trail. have both the fair and the school on the same grounds and this way the ag research students can care for the animals during the fair, the history majors can put there knowledge to use from the elderly of nebraska as well as the eductaion majors and the entire city can win or just build along Havelock (almost called it Salt Creek hey I am in Omaha and had saddle creek on the brain). the fair and school can coexist together "