Expand Haymarket Park
Anyone who’s ever coached a youth baseball team recognizes that freckled-faced boy, hat pulled down to his ears, with dreams of playing in the big leagues.
It’s the same look Saltdogs owner Jim Abel and other members of the 2015 Vision group have when tossing around ideas and fantasizing about Lincoln’s possibilities as a regional sports hub.
“We need to create the vision,” said Abel, chairman of Nebco. “And once we have that put together, we’ll cross our fingers on how we’re going to get it paid for.”
Beyond the proposal of a new downtown arena — the centerpiece of the Vision group’s 10 “pillars” — the growing syndicate of business leaders placed a priority on expanding recreational opportunities into undeveloped land south and west of Haymarket Park.
Early discussions focused on several projects many deem as community needs. Among them:
* A second high school football stadium to relieve scheduling conflicts at Seacrest Field.
* A baseball and softball complex with age group-specific fields suitable for hosting regional or national tournaments. Soccer fields also could be included.
* An ice rink that could function as a training facility for young skaters and a romantic getaway for couples.
The Vision group identified upward of 15 local groups, including nonprofit clubs and the University of Nebraska, that might wish to be part of a phased-in expansion.
“We have no idea where this is going,” said Roger Severin, chairman and chief executive officer of Olsson Associates.
“We’re at step one of a multi-step process, and we’re going to need a lot of people to get involved and provide ideas for this.”
The idea of expanding Lincoln’s reputation as a sports city isn’t new.
For as long as fans have been filling Memorial Stadium for NU football Saturdays — a 282-game streak beginning in 1962 — owners of hotels, restaurants and stores have benefited from the significant financial impact that goes hand-in-hand with such events.
In 2003, a study conducted for the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau listed the sports event market among the three greatest opportunities for the city.
The youth sports market is especially attractive because with every participant comes a family. The consulting group estimated that every household coming to town for such an event would spend an average of $286 a night.
With events such as the USSSA baseball age-group state tournaments drawing 150 or more teams to Omaha every Fourth of July weekend, it’s easy to see how the economic impact for such an event could surpass $1 million.
But to compete for such events, Lincoln must have the facilities.
“Lincoln is behind Omaha and other cities when it comes to fields, especially fields for players 14 and under,” said Tim Roberson, who has coached high school softball and youth baseball in Lincoln for several years.
“I’m a real believer baseball needs to be played on baseball fields, and in Lincoln, a lot of baseball is played on softball fields.
“Right now, people have to travel to Omaha or out of state to play at nicer facilities.”
Vision group leaders say the idea behind providing more grass-roots playing fields, whether for baseball, softball, soccer or football, is that while Lincoln prides itself on being a great place to raise a family, its youth are not getting a fair shake when it comes to sports facilities.
The same can be said for the city’s hardworking moms and dads, many of whom in recent years have had to leave jobs early to watch their sons play varsity football on a Friday afternoon, or worse yet, skip the game altogether.
With the addition of Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln North Star high schools in the past five years, scheduling games at Seacrest Field has become more complicated than the cover-two defense.
Even with some games moved to Beechner Field next to Lincoln High, doubleheaders must be scheduled many weeks, with the early game kicking off before 5 p.m.
And games are scheduled on Thursdays, when attendance lags behind that of traditional Friday night games.
Attendance is important in funding athletic programs of Lincoln Public Schools. Lagging gate receipts in football now account for less than 20 percent of the schools’ budget.
Many believe a new facility — dubbed Seacrest West — could help spur attendance.
“It would be fun to be down there, and I would think the people in the Haymarket would be dying to have it,” said Karen Hand, athletic director for LPS. “For many families, it would be great to pick up a nice dinner and go to a game.
“But I’m going to temper all of that with the question, ‘How much is it going to cost me?’”
Abel and Severin declined to get into cost or who would pay for the projects, indicating it’s too early and such discussions could stifle the creativity now at work.
But Abel, the entrepreneur who worked with the city and the university to build Haymarket Park in 2001, said further expanding the recreational opportunities is a “doable project.”
Jeff Maul, executive director of the Visitors Bureau, said there’s now a sense of urgency.
“You give us a set of facilities, and we’re going to sell it,” Maul said. “If you do something like this, it further defines Lincoln’s dedication to wanting to be the sports capital.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7439 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
It’s the same look Saltdogs owner Jim Abel and other members of the 2015 Vision group have when tossing around ideas and fantasizing about Lincoln’s possibilities as a regional sports hub.
“We need to create the vision,” said Abel, chairman of Nebco. “And once we have that put together, we’ll cross our fingers on how we’re going to get it paid for.”
Beyond the proposal of a new downtown arena — the centerpiece of the Vision group’s 10 “pillars” — the growing syndicate of business leaders placed a priority on expanding recreational opportunities into undeveloped land south and west of Haymarket Park.
Early discussions focused on several projects many deem as community needs. Among them:
* A second high school football stadium to relieve scheduling conflicts at Seacrest Field.
* A baseball and softball complex with age group-specific fields suitable for hosting regional or national tournaments. Soccer fields also could be included.
* An ice rink that could function as a training facility for young skaters and a romantic getaway for couples.
The Vision group identified upward of 15 local groups, including nonprofit clubs and the University of Nebraska, that might wish to be part of a phased-in expansion.
“We have no idea where this is going,” said Roger Severin, chairman and chief executive officer of Olsson Associates.
“We’re at step one of a multi-step process, and we’re going to need a lot of people to get involved and provide ideas for this.”
The idea of expanding Lincoln’s reputation as a sports city isn’t new.
For as long as fans have been filling Memorial Stadium for NU football Saturdays — a 282-game streak beginning in 1962 — owners of hotels, restaurants and stores have benefited from the significant financial impact that goes hand-in-hand with such events.
In 2003, a study conducted for the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau listed the sports event market among the three greatest opportunities for the city.
The youth sports market is especially attractive because with every participant comes a family. The consulting group estimated that every household coming to town for such an event would spend an average of $286 a night.
With events such as the USSSA baseball age-group state tournaments drawing 150 or more teams to Omaha every Fourth of July weekend, it’s easy to see how the economic impact for such an event could surpass $1 million.
But to compete for such events, Lincoln must have the facilities.
“Lincoln is behind Omaha and other cities when it comes to fields, especially fields for players 14 and under,” said Tim Roberson, who has coached high school softball and youth baseball in Lincoln for several years.
“I’m a real believer baseball needs to be played on baseball fields, and in Lincoln, a lot of baseball is played on softball fields.
“Right now, people have to travel to Omaha or out of state to play at nicer facilities.”
Vision group leaders say the idea behind providing more grass-roots playing fields, whether for baseball, softball, soccer or football, is that while Lincoln prides itself on being a great place to raise a family, its youth are not getting a fair shake when it comes to sports facilities.
The same can be said for the city’s hardworking moms and dads, many of whom in recent years have had to leave jobs early to watch their sons play varsity football on a Friday afternoon, or worse yet, skip the game altogether.
With the addition of Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln North Star high schools in the past five years, scheduling games at Seacrest Field has become more complicated than the cover-two defense.
Even with some games moved to Beechner Field next to Lincoln High, doubleheaders must be scheduled many weeks, with the early game kicking off before 5 p.m.
And games are scheduled on Thursdays, when attendance lags behind that of traditional Friday night games.
Attendance is important in funding athletic programs of Lincoln Public Schools. Lagging gate receipts in football now account for less than 20 percent of the schools’ budget.
Many believe a new facility — dubbed Seacrest West — could help spur attendance.
“It would be fun to be down there, and I would think the people in the Haymarket would be dying to have it,” said Karen Hand, athletic director for LPS. “For many families, it would be great to pick up a nice dinner and go to a game.
“But I’m going to temper all of that with the question, ‘How much is it going to cost me?’”
Abel and Severin declined to get into cost or who would pay for the projects, indicating it’s too early and such discussions could stifle the creativity now at work.
But Abel, the entrepreneur who worked with the city and the university to build Haymarket Park in 2001, said further expanding the recreational opportunities is a “doable project.”
Jeff Maul, executive director of the Visitors Bureau, said there’s now a sense of urgency.
“You give us a set of facilities, and we’re going to sell it,” Maul said. “If you do something like this, it further defines Lincoln’s dedication to wanting to be the sports capital.”
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7439 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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