Do you remember a couple years ago when Lancaster County Events Center officials wanted to spend $18 to $20 million to build a new arena, and we were told it was a great deal, there was a huge demand, and so on? A lot of folks -- me included -- had doubts. As it turns out our hesitation may have been a good thing, considering the new plan is less than half the size of the original. If the other half was so great, where did it go?
Doubtfulness gone too far can turn into unwarranted negativity, and that's no good. But when it comes to promises from government officials about the supposed return on a large investment, some degree of skepticism is healthy. Maybe we would have been fine had we gone with the $18 million plan. Yet if it doesn't sound like a good idea these short couple years later, doesn't that make you wonder?
Whenever I see things like this I immediately think "Haymarket arena". Maybe Lincoln can support an 18,000+ seat arena. That would be awesome. Considering how often governments -- and the consultants telling them fairy tales of projects that bring unlimited riches to the community -- oversell rather than undersell, however, I'm not going to jump on that bandwagon just yet.
Wouldn't it be great if governments were dispassionate bodies incapable of being drawn into the hype and hyperbole that surrounds big projects?
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I tell my wife this all the time! (insert rimshot here)
Thank you, I am here all week…
Agreed on the hyperbole of consultants, although Lincoln HAS to do something about Pershing. What a heap! I tried to defend Pershing my first few years here but it’s just plain awful. It’s the best we’ve got right now, but we can do better than that.
@Fletch.
Nice… I laughed outloud. Didn’t see that one coming for some reason.
The whole event center is a joke like we really need 1200 horse stalls. A new areana is a joke for Lincoln the Leid Center can’t sell out and niether can Pershing. The Quest Center asked the state for help if an arena in Omaha can’t make what makes a podunk town like lincoln think it would work here. Because 60 percent of the people living in this town couldn’t afford to attend anything there and like me are expected to pay for something we will never use.
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