Sorry soccer fans. UNL put a quick end to the possibility of Memorial Stadium hosting World Cup matches. Maybe next century.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Dave K
April 10, 2009 at 4:57PM
I came here to post the story in the other thread. UNL and Harvey are so predictable. Dismissing this so quickly due to ‘logistical problems’ is hilarious. I’m sure someone on campus could have figured out how to solve those problems, especially since Harvey’s vaunted research campus will be well under construction by then.
(Again, it’s highly unlikely that Lincoln would have even made USSF/FIFA’s short list, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the public officials involved to at least make it look like they’d be open to it. In fact, on the radio this morning the guy from the Visitors’ Bureau said they emailed FIFA and told them they’re interested. I guess he didn’t know who really ran the city.)
Peter
April 10, 2009 at 7:10PM
Grass field is the killer. No grass - no soccer.
Mr. Wilson
April 10, 2009 at 7:19PM
That’s probably one of the easiest hurdles to overcome, actually. Either the turf could be temporarily removed, or a grass field could sit on top of the existing surface. Both have been done at facilities around the world. If you can put an Olympic-class swimming pool in Qwest Center, you can put a grass field in Memorial Stadium.
Dave K
April 10, 2009 at 8:33PM
Exactly. The more I think about it, Harvey is insulting the University and Lincoln by saying their are logistical problems.
Dave K
April 10, 2009 at 8:33PM
*there
Mr. T
April 10, 2009 at 11:42PM
I’m going to take the minority position here and defend Harv. We’re Lincoln, not London. We all know that there was no chance in hell that Lincoln would get the World Cup. Only the biggest metropolitan areas in the country could support a World Cup.
True, its always good for our leaders to “think big” and to do so within a spirit of wider civic good, but that thinking has to be done within a framework of reality. Right now UNL has more pressing issues to deal with, like the massive budget cuts that are around the corner. Harv has to focus on and respond to these issues before he can (I hate to say this) waste time with a proposal with no bearing in reality.
As far as the tone of most of the comments on the LJS story, what should we expect? Harvey/UNL is the perennial punching bag for the LJS’ “online community” generally. These people wake up and drink a 64 oz bottle of hatorade every day. Especially since there haven’t been any Chuck Hagel, Turco, or Bruning stories recently, LJS commenters needed to pounce on something and this story just happened to pop.
OK guys flame me now. But anyway I am as much a soccer fan as you all are and would love to attend a World Cup. Its just not going to happen in Lincoln.
D.M.B.
April 11, 2009 at 1:40AM
Man alive Harvey…can you say jump the gun? Its absolutely moronic of him to say no so quickly. Who says we can’t host it? Yeah we’re probably not going to make the final cut but thinking outside the box isn’t the worst thing in the world to do. At least exploring the idea further says Lincoln would be willing to entertain the idea of hosting a big event like that.
Hell we host 80k people 8 times a year…we can’t do a handful of soccer matches?
Bad form Harvey.
Diane Kaye
April 12, 2009 at 1:30AM
OK, Mr. T - I do not drink hatorade every day, but I do agree with most of the LJS comments regarding Perlman’s hasty action.
The proposed date is years away, and a lot can change by then. And even if Lincoln was not a likely final choice, we could have gotten some publicity out of being considered. Just being in the running would have given us an opportunity for some PR for both the city and University.
No, a World Cup probably wouldn’t happen in Lincoln even if Perlman was more enlightened, but I think we should have at least explored the possibility.
Fletch
April 12, 2009 at 9:01PM
In case you did not have a delicious Easter dinner, Lincolnite is proud to feature the first helping of SPAM that I can remember here.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
I came here to post the story in the other thread. UNL and Harvey are so predictable. Dismissing this so quickly due to ‘logistical problems’ is hilarious. I’m sure someone on campus could have figured out how to solve those problems, especially since Harvey’s vaunted research campus will be well under construction by then.
(Again, it’s highly unlikely that Lincoln would have even made USSF/FIFA’s short list, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the public officials involved to at least make it look like they’d be open to it. In fact, on the radio this morning the guy from the Visitors’ Bureau said they emailed FIFA and told them they’re interested. I guess he didn’t know who really ran the city.)
Grass field is the killer. No grass - no soccer.
That’s probably one of the easiest hurdles to overcome, actually. Either the turf could be temporarily removed, or a grass field could sit on top of the existing surface. Both have been done at facilities around the world. If you can put an Olympic-class swimming pool in Qwest Center, you can put a grass field in Memorial Stadium.
Exactly. The more I think about it, Harvey is insulting the University and Lincoln by saying their are logistical problems.
*there
I’m going to take the minority position here and defend Harv. We’re Lincoln, not London. We all know that there was no chance in hell that Lincoln would get the World Cup. Only the biggest metropolitan areas in the country could support a World Cup.
True, its always good for our leaders to “think big” and to do so within a spirit of wider civic good, but that thinking has to be done within a framework of reality. Right now UNL has more pressing issues to deal with, like the massive budget cuts that are around the corner. Harv has to focus on and respond to these issues before he can (I hate to say this) waste time with a proposal with no bearing in reality.
As far as the tone of most of the comments on the LJS story, what should we expect? Harvey/UNL is the perennial punching bag for the LJS’ “online community” generally. These people wake up and drink a 64 oz bottle of hatorade every day. Especially since there haven’t been any Chuck Hagel, Turco, or Bruning stories recently, LJS commenters needed to pounce on something and this story just happened to pop.
OK guys flame me now. But anyway I am as much a soccer fan as you all are and would love to attend a World Cup. Its just not going to happen in Lincoln.
Man alive Harvey…can you say jump the gun? Its absolutely moronic of him to say no so quickly. Who says we can’t host it? Yeah we’re probably not going to make the final cut but thinking outside the box isn’t the worst thing in the world to do. At least exploring the idea further says Lincoln would be willing to entertain the idea of hosting a big event like that.
Hell we host 80k people 8 times a year…we can’t do a handful of soccer matches?
Bad form Harvey.
OK, Mr. T - I do not drink hatorade every day, but I do agree with most of the LJS comments regarding Perlman’s hasty action.
The proposed date is years away, and a lot can change by then. And even if Lincoln was not a likely final choice, we could have gotten some publicity out of being considered. Just being in the running would have given us an opportunity for some PR for both the city and University.
No, a World Cup probably wouldn’t happen in Lincoln even if Perlman was more enlightened, but I think we should have at least explored the possibility.
In case you did not have a delicious Easter dinner, Lincolnite is proud to feature the first helping of SPAM that I can remember here.
On a serious note, Happy Easter everyone!
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