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Decisions needed on State Fair future

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Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - 12:27:41 am CDT

State senators need to roll up their sleeves and get to work deciding the future of the Nebraska State Fair.

Time is growing short. The Legislature has only 15 working days before the scheduled end of the session on April 17.

Indecision on the fair makes long-term planning impossible, limits options for investment in fair facilities, hurts private fund-raising by the fair’s foundation, deepens rivalry between cities competing for the fair and generally feeds animosity surrounding the issue.

The agriculture committee chaired by Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard tentatively has slated an executive session for Wednesday. It would be a major disappointment if the committee makes no progress.

At the very least, state senators should settle the issue of whether the fair will be moving. That vehicle for that decision exists in LB1044, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Ron Raikes, to give the current fairgrounds to UNL by 2012, leaving the decision on the fair’s new home for later.

As the Journal Star’s editorial board has said previously, conversion of the current fairgrounds into a research park is in the best interests of the entire state — not just the narrow interests of the city of Lincoln. Gov. Dave Heineman said transformation of the 251-acre fairgrounds tract into a research park is “the most significant opportunity of a lifetime.”

The research park will provide new opportunities for students, researchers and businesses and will create benefits that will ripple across the whole state.

Approval of LB1044 would at least allow planning for that exciting new development at UNL to move ahead.

Even better would be for senators to also decide where the fair should move. One factor to consider is that the Legislature will undergo another wholesale turnover this year because of term limits. New senators will be behind on the learning curve on this issue. The ag committee has heard consultants and pitches from various interested communities. A considerable body of facts has been amassed.

The State Fair Board’s distaste for the proposal to move the fair near the Lancaster Event Center near 84th and Holdrege streets in Lincoln has prompted Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler to explore other possibilities. The city of Lincoln has hired Omaha attorney Kermit Brashear, a former state senator, to work on the issue. Brashear reportedly is working on a plan to provide financing for a move to a site elsewhere in Lincoln.

But continued expenditure of time and energy looking for a site acceptable to the fair board seems like a dubious proposition. The fair board really has demonstrated little enthusiasm for any proposed new location.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Legislature to create the research park and decide where to put the fair. Delay will bring progress to a standstill. These are decisions that senators should make this year.


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esad wrote on March 25, 2008 6:35 am:
" Maybe I've missed something but I have not heard anyone explain how the conversion of the fair grounds into a research park will benefit the entire state. It is not going to bring higher paying jobs to the state so what is the benefit to Lincoln, let alone the entire state. "

 Ricky wrote on March 25, 2008 7:09 am:
" Hiring Brashear? The kiss of death for Lincoln keeping the state fair.
Why does the Mayor of Lincoln use the former Speaker as a lobbyist only one year after he leaves office?
Is there a conflict of interest?
Go State Fair to GI!

Ricky From Omaha "

 mitchy_v wrote on March 25, 2008 9:21 am:
" How about ammending the state law that says that the fair must be in lincoln. It will keep all of our options open. "

 B Evans wrote on March 25, 2008 9:45 am:
" The State Fair Board has shown little interest in any of the offered sites in Lincoln because the sites offered were worse than what they have. Especially the Lancaster Events Center. I had the "opportunity" to be out there for the Kidz Expo - Great event, terrible facility. McCool Junction has a nicer events center. Poorly design and poorly maintained and zero landscaping. Offer the State Fair a viable site with trees and landscaping and enough land above the water table to build a racetrack and I would suspect that you might get a different answer. I would prefer to see the University demonstrate the efficacy of their intentions by renovating some of the space that they purchased for Research and Development. It would be neat to fix up the space between the Antelope Valley and the State Fair. Start with the Cushman/Textron plant and Whittier otherwise that will be an eyesore in the middle of a billion dollars of redevelopment. "

 SC wrote on March 25, 2008 10:01 am:
" How about leaving the fair where it’s at, give them the partial funding that they had last year and save the tax payers the millions we will have to eventually pay. The land developers have made a mess of the housing market already and the friends of the chamber have done enough favors for the Lincoln elite. The UNL has so many prime plots of land already; develop central and western Nebraska areas if you really want to help the state. But its not really about helping the state now is it! Find something else to put in your sandbox and leave the state fair alone. "

 Jeff wrote on March 25, 2008 11:48 am:
" We need a good facility like the event center. If the State Fair could coexist at 84th street- we could have an outstanding facility. I would think the flood plain issues could be overcome. The Event center definitely needs more work and development. Start by getting rid of those aluminum bleachers with the obnoxious fence partitions between each section - which is unsightly and obstructs your view. What is the purpose of the partitions anyway? The State Fair Board seems to be good at saying No - but I don't hear much that is constructive - pouting I think. "

 Keep Fair wrote on March 25, 2008 3:35 pm:
" I disagree with your editorial. I believe the State Fair should stay where it is. The Fair Board has said many times if enough money is put on the table they would move. However, the University thinks they can get this prime land for free. How insane is that? The University already has plenty of land to expand on. Please leave the State Fair alone. Something that your paper conveniently leaves out is that the majority of Nebraskans just voted in 2004 to give 10% of the Lottery money to the Fair with the assumption that it would continue at its present location. In fact, this is what the Governor said last year. Somehow his mind has been changed. I wonder by whom. There is absolutely no reason why one institution has the right to take over another institution's land. Remember the Fair is older than the University. The most optimal answer is to keep the Fair where it is both economically and historically. I urge the Senators to stand up to the University. Another thing that the University representatives said at the hearing on the Fair in front of the Agriculture Committee is that it was not our idea to take the Fairgrounds. If you were truly a newspaper for the people you would investigate this and determine whose idea it was. My guess is it is big developers who want to get this land for free to make a ton of money on it. LET'S SAVE THE FAIR!!! "

 mitchy_v wrote on March 25, 2008 4:06 pm:
" FREE? I never read anything about the land being free. Last article I read stated that the evil university would pay the appraised land value. "

 Actually wrote on March 25, 2008 5:19 pm:
" While the state fair is officially older than UNL (according to wikipedia it began in Nebr. City in 1859) the University was first in Lincoln (1869 vs. 1872). So, let's move it to Nebraska City and save the "tradition"!!!

Let UNL have the land...they'd do a better job of using it to its fullest anyway. "

 for goodness sake wrote on March 25, 2008 7:42 pm:
" let...............it.................die!!!!!!!!!!!! "

 Steve wrote on March 25, 2008 9:48 pm:
" Maybe I'm wrong, but to me some new UNL buildings is not "the most significant opportunity of a lifetime." The problem I have with this whole thing is no one is giving any clear indication of what the entire thing will cost taxpayers. The University already has a lot of land & buildings that are either unused or underused (i.e. Whittier, Cushman, Devaney Center, quite a bit on/around East Campus, etc.). If a significant push is made to develop the State Fair Park, it really seems unlikely that those areas will be fully utilized any time soon due to a lack of funds. When we add in other things that the City of Lincoln & its 2015 Vision group is proposing or already has underway (i.e. new ice complex, arena, downtown redevelopment) the taxpayers of this city won't be able to handle everything. Before anyone says that I'm old and against progress - that's entirely not true. I am a 31 year old homeowner who is a native of Lincoln. I'm all for development and progress, but we need to focus on what we can afford. "

 Joe wrote on March 26, 2008 1:03 am:
" It would seem that not enough time remains during the legislative session to make a rational decision on such a complex question. Considering the current economic conditions, more time is needed to come up with a plan which would be feasible for all involved. Yet, I agree that something must be done to avoid further delay in planning and possible fund raising.

Accordingly, only one decision must be made soon. Will the fair stay in Lincoln, either at its current site or another within the Lincoln area?

Another question should be asked. Will the university consider alternate sites for its plans? Since the fair is being asked to consider alternate sites, so too, should the university. The answers to these questions would go a long way to provide enough rational facts to make a rational decision. If it is decided that the fair will remain in Lincoln, as was proposed by the consultants to have a chance to survive, then the fund raising could resume. If it is decided to move the fair out of Lincoln,, fund raising won't matter as it will surely die a slow death or be diminished to no more than a rural county fair.

Senators, ask the tough questions before you vote.

The two aforementioned questions should first be answered before any final decisions are made. "

 Neo wrote on March 26, 2008 7:35 am:
" As long as they continue to run the fair after school has started, attendance will not be maximized regardless of the fair's location. "

 dewboy wrote on March 28, 2008 12:01 am:
" Kiss the fair goodby Lincoln. We owe thanks to 2015 vision and eneptness by City of Lincoln management for not standing up to 2015 and dear ole NU. 2015 thought they had a site picked out and it backfired on them and Lincoln management. I don't recall voting to allow the 2015 group to run the City of Lincoln. "

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