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A tough call, but new stadium is needed

Change is such a small word that has such a huge impact on how people live their lives.

Nowhere has that become more evident than when you talk to people in Omaha about the proposed downtown stadium that would replace Rosenblatt Stadium as the home for the College World Series.

Those that are in support of the new stadium talk about keeping the CWS in Omaha for a long time to come and getting a facility built that will be easier to access. Those that are opposed talk about the tradition and that the stadium, even at 60 years of age, still has a lot of life left in it.

It's a tough situation to be in, especially if you're Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey. Nobody wants to be known as the mayor who allowed college athletics' longest-running festival of fun to leave town, yet at the same time he is calling for the abandonment of a time-honored city treasure that college baseball fans know as "The Johnny" or, simply put, "Rosenblatt."

At the news conference Wednesday, stadium committee officials and Fahey spent over 90 minutes talking with the media about the proposal. There are still questions that need to be answered, and you aren't going to get everybody on board with this no matter how hard you try. But the bottom line is that, if Omaha wants to maintain its hold on the College World Series (which will be 60 years when the contract runs out in 2010), a new stadium is the best, and only, option available.

Rosenblatt Stadium has undergone countless renovations during its 60-year run. Cost estimates on properly renovating the facility would run in the $60-70 million range. In addition, the renovation would require much more than simply slapping a few coats of paint on and installing new seats -- the stadium itself would have to be completely reconstructed to create concourse space, and such construction isn't done overnight. In fact, the committee estimated that the CWS would actually have to be played somewhere else for one year, and the Omaha Royals would have to find a temporary home somewhere else for parts of two seasons.

In addition, the city would have to negotiate with homeowners along 13th Street to buy their property so a "clean zone" could be built around a "new" Rosenblatt. And I'm no expert on the neighborhood, but if you think those people are going to willingly sell their property and move, you're completely out of your mind.

Although the projected cost of the new stadium is in the $128 million neighborhood, the funding for the stadium actually makes sense. A little over a third of the funding would come from private sources. Another $20 million or so will come from stadium revenue, naming rights, parking fees, etc. And about $58 million would come from hotel and car rental taxes as well as local keno revenue. For local taxpayers, the fact that they won't see any city property tax increases should be looked at as a good thing.

The NCAA is telling the public that they have had no input on this situation (and if you know how the NCAA works, you know that this is rubbish). But you can bet that the NCAA is keeping a very close eye on what goes on in Omaha with the debate on this construction. The NCAA might -- might -- sign on for another five years if things aren't settled soon and more time is needed. They are more likely, though, to take the College World Series to someplace like the city where their current headquarters is located, Indianapolis (try saying "The Road To Indianapolis" -- it just doesn't sound right).

Ultimately, the building of a new stadium and the abandoning of a stadium that has served the city and all of college baseball well over the past six decades is not an easy one to accept, nor is it easy to put together. What it will lose in charm and tradition it will gain in a fresh look and a guarantee that it won't be moving out of Omaha for 20 years or more.

But if Omaha REALLY wants to keep the College World Series in Omaha, then a new stadium is something they must do, regardless of what the NCAA is saying about the organization not holding anyone's feet to the fire. It's a tough call and it's going to be hard for some in Omaha to accept change, but the bottom line is that a new stadium is the way to go if we want to continue seeing the nation's best college baseball players look to Omaha as their ultimate destination.

(NOTE: To see complete comprehensive details of the plans for a new downtown stadium, check out the Omaha Stadium website.)

New stadium proposal made public

The proposal for a new downtown stadium that would replace Rosenblatt Stadium as the host site for the College World Series was unveiled Wednesday afternoon in Omaha.

Mayor Mike Fahey and members of the committee that looked into the stadium issue presented their findings to the public, one day after making a similar presentation to the NCAA in Indianapolis.

The proposal presented will take up two parking lots located northwest of the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha. The $128 million facility would seat 24,000 fans with options to expand capacity to as many as 35,000 and, if all goes according to plan, would be built to be ready for the 2011 College World Series.

The group provided answers to a lot of questions surrounding the proposed new stadium, as well as providing reasons why 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium has, for all intents and purposes, outlived its usefulness as a host site for the NCAA's Div. I baseball championship tournament after almost 60 years.

The new state-of-the-art stadium would have an open concourse with the capability for fans to walk all the way around the stadium with a continuous view of the field. Seating would be wider with more legroom than at Rosenblatt and would be closer in proximity to the field, and there would be more premium seating for club and field level view, more and better suites and an overall better fan experience, according to the committee.

The biggest concern, among Omaha taxpayers, was how much a new stadium was going to raise property taxes. That concern was addressed by Ken Stinson, chairman of the stadium committee, as he outlined how the new stadium would be paid for.

Three sources would be used to finance the new stadium -- private contributions, stadium revenue and public funding. Stinson said that $43 million in private contributions would be used, with $12 million going to retire debt on previous Rosenblatt expansion projects; revenue from the stadium for premium seating, naming rights, seat taxes, parking revenue and other related renue would bring in $37.5 million over a 20-year period. The remaining money, about $59 million, would come from a 1 percent increase in the hotel tax rate, a $2 per rental increase in the car rental tax and the application of keno proceeds the city of Omaha will assume from Douglas County beginning in 2011.

Stinson said renovation of Rosenblatt was still under consideration until the end of the study, but the cost of an extensive renovation of the stadium not only would require as much public funding as a new stadium, but would displace the College World Series for one year and the Omaha Royals for parts of two seasons. Additionally, there would be extensive time and money involved in acquiring individual property west of the stadium for a "clean zone" that would make such a renovation cost-prohibitive.

And while the assumption of two parking lots near the Qwest Center would take out over 900 parking spots, the proposal noted that 3,000 parking spaces would be available near the stadium, along with the 1,500 still available at the Qwest Center.

Committee officials and Mayor Mike Fahey all acknowledged that there have been a lot of concerns and criticism of the proposal to vacate Rosenblatt Stadium in favor of a new downtown stadium and that they must convince the public that this is the best option to keep the College World Series in Omaha beyond 2010. A series of public forums is being planned for the first part of March to help answer questions and hear concerns from the public about the stadium.

We will have more insight and opinion regarding the stadium proposal in the days ahead.

New stadium proposal info released today

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey will have a news conference Wednesday afternoon to publicly release plans for a new downtown stadium that would serve as the future host of the College World Series.

Fahey met with NCAA officials Tuesday in Indianapolis, and the Omaha World-Herald reported that NCAA officials were impressed with the two-hour presentation made by Fahey and several other Omaha officials, including College World Series Inc. president Jack Diesing Jr.

According to reports, discussion Tuesday focused exclusively on plans to build a stadium on two parking lots north of Qwest Center Omaha, meaning any discussion of plans to renovate Rosenblatt Stadium – the College World Series home site since 1950 – are all but dead in the water.

What is known about the new stadium plans are that it will be a 24,000-seat stadium with open concourses. The area will include fan festival areas and will provide a riverfront view for fans.

It also appears the NCAA is willing to give Omaha some extra time to finalize plans. Originally, the city had until April 30 to come up with an offer beyond the current contract, which runs out in 2010.

NCAA officials said the Omaha group needs to do two things together if they want to secure a long-term contract to keep the College World Series in Omaha. NCAA executive vice president Tom Jernstedt said the Omaha group’s focus now must center around coming up with a financing plan for a stadium that could cost upwards of $140 million and get “broad-based support” from the people of Omaha.

Both Fahey and Diesing reportedly told the NCAA that achieving both tasks is all but a sure thing, and the first step toward that goal is today’s news conference to release details of the proposed plan. Town hall meetings are also scheduled for March 6, 8 and 10, and a website will be activated offering details of the stadium proposal online.

That might be easier said than done, though. There are a lot of questions being asked and a wide range of criticism being directed at Mayor Fahey and those involved in pushing the downtown stadium proposal through, and the Metropolitan Entertainment Convention Authority (MECA) is not exactly thrilled with the idea of having two significant pieces of parking space gobbled up by a new stadium.

More information on the new stadium proposal will be made available, and we will have further updates and opinions about the new stadium proposal in the days ahead.

Fahey meeting with NCAA today

An event that a lot of college baseball fans will have their eyes on today is taking place nowhere near a baseball stadium, but certainly will be centered around the future of one.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey is meeting with NCAA officials in Indianapolis Tuesday to discuss the city’s plans to build a new stadium in the downtown area just north of the Qwest Center. Focus of the discussion will center around Fahey’s search for a site that would be big enough to hold a 25,000-seat stadium that could be used for the College World Series during its annual two-week run in June, then adjusted for smaller seating capacity for the Omaha Royals, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, to use the field as its home stadium.

Lip service will be given toward possible scenarios to rebuild or renovate Rosenblatt Stadium, which has served as the host site for the College World Series since 1950. But let’s be real – Fahey is doing whatever he can to railroad a new stadium through with as little opposition as possible and wants to avoid any long-term discussion about trying to rebuild Rosenblatt.

The public, to this point, has been kept pretty much in the dark about details surrounding the stadium, most notably how much public funding is going to be used for a stadium that, according to media reports, is going to cost a minimum of $120 million to build. Fahey, who has made it clear through his actions that he wants to keep the public in the dark on this as long as possible, has promised that he will release details of the proposal to the public after today’s meeting with the NCAA. How quickly that actually happens remains to be seen.

The biggest concern, for those with local interest in the College World Series, has been the bickering that has been going on between Fahey, leaders of the Metropolitan Entertainment Convention Authority (MECA) and those interested in saving Rosenblatt Stadium and keeping the College World Series in Omaha. Fahey insists the downtown stadium is the only way to keep the event in Omaha for the next 20-30 years. MECA is not happy with Fahey’s insistence on using two parking lots near the Qwest Center, which could stifle future growth of the city’s five-year-old arena. And, of course, there are those interested in the tradition of Rosenblatt and keeping the nation’s best college sports tournament in the place it has called home for almost six decades.

Then there is the Omaha City Council, who may end up having the final say on the whole thing. And judging from comments made by some council members, it may end up that Fahey’s dream of ramming a new stadium through without the public’s approval – either through the Council itself or by a vote of the people – may strike out completely.

There is growing public dissension with the idea of paying taxes on a new stadium when bigger issues – deteriorating streets, rising crime rates, a billion-dollar sewer rebuilding project – currently face the city. There is also a palpable, growing displeasure with Fahey and some citizens are actually staring an effort to recall the mayor, even though he is up for re-election in 2009.

Fahey, no doubt, will be greeted warmly by the NCAA when he meets with them Tuesday. It’s the chilly reception he’ll get coming home, though, that he should be more concerned with at this point.

Road To Rosenblatt feature: San Diego Toreros

When you mention the words "baseball" and "San Diego" -- the first thing that usually pops to mind is Tony Gwynn.

Gwynn, of course, made his name as one of the best hitters of his generation and played his entire career for his hometown San Diego Padres. And he's now the head coach at San Diego State University.

But when it comes to San Diego baseball in college, the team on everybody's radar right now is the University of San Diego Toreros, who have leaped into the upper echelon of the college baseball world and enter the 2008 season as one of the teams to watch for this summer's College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Coach Rich Hill is in his 10th year with the Toreros and has taken them from a middle-of-the-road program to a team that posted its first 40-win season, became the first West Coast Conference team to earn a national seed in the NCAA tournament, and is ranked in the top 10 in every major preseason poll heading into the 2008 season.

Not bad for a school that plays in a 1,200-seat facility and lacks a revenue-generating football program.

The team scrapped its way through the West Coast Conference, but really didn't gain national attention until early in the 2006 season. It was then that a little-known Toreros squad took defending national champion Texas out behind the woodshed for a three-game sweep. When that happened, experts began to take notice that this little program was starting to make some big noise.

Last year, the Toreros ripped through the WCC and had the No. 8 national seed going into the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, they stumbled in the opening round and were unable to recover, losing to eventual College World Series participant Cal State Fullerton.

Things are looking good for this year, though. Pitcher Brian Matusz was named a first-team Preseason All-American by Baseball America, and pitcher-outfielder Josh Romanski was a second-team honoree. They are among a group of talented players returning for Coach Hill as he works to get San Diego University its first-ever trip to Rosenblatt Stadium for the 2008 College World Series.

Omaha mayor, NCAA to meet on College World Series

Omaha's mayor will be meeting with officials from the NCAA next week to discuss the future of the College World Series.

Nothing is expected to come of Tuesday's meeting in Indianapolis, as Mayor Mike Fahey will be updating the NCAA on the city's proposal to build a new baseball stadium on two parking lots north of the Qwest Center. The presentation to the NCAA will be made before details are released to the public later in the week, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Fahey reportedly will discuss the proposal presented by the stadium oversight committee, which looked at eight different downtown sites and three proposed renovation plans for Rosenblatt Stadium, which has hosted the College World Series since 1950.

Tuesday's presentation will include details of the stadium, proposed amenities and the city's plan to finance the stadium, which current estimates put in the $140 million range. Fahey, who will be traveling with Ken Stinson of the stadium oversight committee and CWS of Omaha president Jack Diesing. will also discuss the ongoing negotiations between the City of Omaha and the Metropolitan Entertainment Convention Authority (MECA). MECA has opposed using its parking lots for the stadium, but seem to be softening their position after Fahey announced that MECA would run the stadium as it does now with the Qwest Center.

Ultimately, Omaha hopes to secure a long-term deal with the NCAA to keep the College World Series in Omaha well into the 21st century. Critics of Fahey's plan would like to see the NCAA agree to a five-year extension past the current contract's 2010 end date to allow more time to come up with a better proposal. Fahey hopes that a new downtown stadium would encourage the NCAA to agree to an extension of 20 years or more.

CWS Spotlight: Cal State Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton could be considered a team in flux after losing their long-time coach, but the transition is being made smoother with the addition of a former assistant.

George Horton left CSF to start up a new program at the University of Oregon, and that opened the door for former Titans assistant Dave Serrano to return. He certainly has done well for himself since leaving CSF in 2004, leading the UC-Irvine Anteaters to last year's College World Series.

Serrano has a good group of players to inherit from his former mentor, led by returning All-American pitcher Wes Roemer, who sported an 11-7 record with a team-best 150 strikeouts in 2007. Jeff Kaplan is also back after matching Roemer's win total and recording 83 strikeouts last year.

Offensively, the Titans may not be as strong as in years past, but defensively they should be a pretty solid bunch. All three outfielders are back from last year, led by center fielder Josh Fellhauer, who is the team's top returning hitter. Chris Jones will be out in right while Khris Davis anchors left field.

The Titans open the season on the road at TCU, and should be in the mix of things when the season winds down later this spring.

CWS Spotlight: Mississippi State Bulldogs

When the postseason started, few expected Mississippi State to come out of a bracket that included a very talented Florida State team.

Not only did the Bulldogs sweep the Tallahasse regional, but they carried that over into super-regionals, sweeping Clemson to earn a trip to the College World Series.

Coach Ron Polk loses eight starters from last year's team, but has a good wealth of talent returning that should give Mississippi State a chance to repeat their postseason success of a year ago.

The Bulldogs' strength should be in its pitching, which will be led by Chad Crosswhite and Justin Pigott. Piggott logged the most innings last year, while Crosswhite was the team leader in wins. Ricky Grown and Aaron Weatherford both pitched well in relief and were team co-leaders in saves last year.

Ofensively, the Bulldogs lost a lot of pop from last year, but have some good returning talent. Brandon Turner was the team's leading hitter, batting just under .400, and Connor Powers, Mark Goforth and Andy Rice were all solid in the field and should give the Bulldogs some much-needed depth.

The Bulldogs begin the season in a rare position, starting the 2008 campaign on the road at North Florida. They will host Baylor in the Cadence Challenge May 7-9 before facing a very tough SEC docket. They do see several of the main contenders at home this year, including Ole Miss, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

Sorting Through the Baseball Stadium Mess

Whether you find the Omaha baseball stadium battle frustrating or a little wacky, today I will be analyzing some of the arguments from both sides of the battle.

The stadium committee formed in October by Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey to find the best option for Omaha to keep its contract with the NCAA for the College World Series released their final plan to build a new downtown stadium in the Qwest Center parking lots.

And as you may have guessed, the announcement has everyone in Omaha all riled up about the stadium issue.  Half want to keep it in Rosenblatt stadium, but the other half want to see the downtown area expand with a new CWS stadium.

Both sides of the argument have said some ridiculous stuff in the past few days.

Omaha City Councilman Gary Gernandt leads the charge saying that the mayor had set up his committee in October to hide his own personal agenda of re-developing North Omaha.  But I really don't see the mayor setting up a five month long committee hoax just to fuel his personal interests.  I like conspiracy theories too, but I can't bring myself to believe this.

Gernandt also said that the Mayor was not listening to the people of Omaha, who Gernandt says overwhelmingly want to keep the College World Series in historic Rosenblatt Stadium.  This is a big statement coming from the councilman who represents South Omaha.  South Omaha coincidentally is the home of Rosenblatt stadium.

Now on to Mayor Mike Fahey.  Fahey decided not to release the reasons that the stadium committee suggested to him regarding building a new CWS stadium.  He said that only after the NCAA has looked at it will he release it to the public.  He said that they owed it to the NCAA whom they have had a relationship with for over 50 years.  I really don't understand this argument; it's not the city of the NCAA its the city of Omaha.  The city of Omaha is who the mayor serves, not the NCAA.

This really isn't doing much for Mayor Fahey's image either, who has been criticized throughout the whole ordeal for being to secretive about future plans.

Stadium Committee Releases Plan for Downtown Stadium

It is no surprise to anyone who was following the College World Series stadium drama for the past ten months that Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey's stadium committee has recommended that a new CWS stadium be built on two of the Qwest Center Arena's parking lots.  Today the stadium committee, who was considering eight downtown possibilities and three Rosenblatt renovation possibilities, announced their plan to the public and recommended that a new $140 million CWS stadium be build in the parking lots of the Qwest Center.

In my last post, I talked about the possibility that the head of MECA, David Sokol taking the city to court regarding the building rights on the land around the Qwest Center.  MECA owns a 99 year lease with the city of Omaha and argued that it would hurt traffic flow and parking if a new College World Series stadium were put there.  Sokol hinted that if the city of Omaha would give MECA, who runs the Qwest Center, the rights to run and operated the new CWS stadium that they would then not pursue a court battle with the city.

A court battle would be terrible for Omaha who got a letter from the NCAA recently warning that they wanted the community to agree on a new stadium plan and that going to court would hurt the city's chances of landing a long term deal with the NCAA for expanding the city's contract for the College World Series.

Well it looks like Sokol's plan worked.  Mayor Mike Fahey promised Sokol that MECA would be the operating group for the new downtown stadium.  In fact, the Omaha World Herald reported that Fahey was always planning on offering MECA the operating opportunity.

Now we have to wait and see what the NCAA says about the plan.  If they agree to extend Omaha's CWS contract it could keep the College World Series in Omaha for another 25 years.  That is added on to the already 58 years it has been housed in Omaha.