New stadium is a done deal with 25-year agreement

The people of Omaha can exhale now -- the College World Series won't be going anywhere until 2035.

It's hard to imagine what the game of baseball will be like a quarter of a century down the road. When you think about it, 25 years ago from now was 1983. Back then, we saw some tremendous talent play in Rosenblatt Stadium that would eventually wind up in the big leagues. Some of the guys on the all-tournament team that year are names you no doubt remember in big-league uniforms -- Dave Magadan (Alabama), Chris Sabo (Michigan), Barry Bonds (Arizona State), Pete Incaviglia (Oklahoma State) and Calvin Schiraldi (Texas) all made names for themselves in Major League Baseball after showcasing their talents at the College World Series in 1983.

The tournament will remain at Rosenblatt Stadium until 2010, when the current agreement between the city of Omaha and the NCAA runs out. In the summer of 2011, the tournament will move up 13th Street a few miles to a brand new stadium that will be built just a Bob Horner moon shot away from the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha.

There are so many memories college baseball fans have of Rosenblatt Stadium, memories that will no doubt be hard to replace even after "The Johnny" is torn down after the 2010 College World Series. As it always is, though, the memories of days gone by will be the foundation for new memories that will no doubt be created in a brand new 24,000-seat facility that will be built with this tournament's best interests in mind.

Omaha has been the perfect host for this tournament. With its central location and the timing of the season, there is no better place on this planet for a tournament as unique as the College World Series. The NCAA recognized this and went beyond its comfort zone of short-term agreements to keep the College World Series in a city that has treated the NCAA very, very well over the years.

The College World Series has also served as a calling card for the city in helping to bring other NCAA tournaments to town. Omaha hosted the NCAA volleyball tournament in 2006 and will do so again later this year. Earlier this year, it hosted an NCAA basketball regional for the first time in over three decades. Two years from now the NCAA Div. I wrestling championships will come to Omaha.

The last hurdle to the process will be approval by the Omaha City Council, and that is not expected to be a problem despite the fact there is at least one member on the seven-member board who has said he will vote against any and all stadium-related issues. The 25-year agreement the NCAA will sign later this spring makes this a done deal, and it will be great for baseball fans to continue coming to Omaha to see the College World Series well into the 21st century.