The pool is closed in 2012
Omaha will not be the repeat host of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in 2012 according to omaha.com.
The schedule for the trials overlapped with the College World Series and the two parties could not come to an agreement to move their dates. USA Swimming selected to start on June 17th and the CWS was scheduled to start on the 16th. USA Swimming decided they could move back 4 days but that would have meant the CWS would have had to move their tournament up at least 5 days. With the new baseball stadium going up that close to the Qwest Center it would have been a logistical nightmare to put both events on. Could the trials and the CWS coexisted had the CWS still been out at Rosenblatt in 2012? My answer is no. To have two huge events like that going on in one city at the same time is a bad idea and might have actually hurt the CWS. I know there’s enough fans to fill both stadiums but since the trials are a once every 4 years type of event, the coverage might overshadow the CWS. The reason why they both worked in Omaha this year was because of the later starting date of the olympics (8/8/08 instead of the 7/27/2012 of the London games)
Omaha might have caught the perfect storm this year when hosting the trials and will not see another one like it for a long time. Why? Micheal Phelps of course. Phelps’ run for 8 gold medals started in Omaha. The general public was introduced to Phelps in Omaha. 2012 is not going to create the same buzz that in Omaha that it did in 2008. Phelps won’t be going for 8 gold medals (or more) again and while his celebrity status will be at an all time high, its just not going to be that big. We have to keep the CWS #1 in this town and can’t give them a reason to leave.
The Comments
Yodelboy says Phelps wasn't introduced to the December 5, 2008 at 12:50am
Phelps wasn’t introduced to the general public in Omaha. Many people remembered his gold medal run in Sydney.
As far as keeping the CWS numero uno in Omaha...remember the long term contract that was signed by the NCAA this past year? The CWS won’t be leaving Omaha as this new ballpark is proof that Omaha will bend over backwards (against a lot of public criticism) to keep the CWS in the Big O.