Open house highlights Haymarket area project

Close to 400 people showed up at the Memorial Stadium West clubhouse Wednesday night to speak with officials with the most sway in the construction of an arena that would be part of a major renovation to Lincoln's Haymarket area.

As the elevator doors opened on the third floor of the clubhouse, eight stations created a circular walking tour for interested Lincolnites. Each station was devoted to a particular part of the construction, should the public vote aye on the proposal.

Tom Lorenz, general manager of the Pershing Center, said the Pershing has seen a "huge drop-off" since the Qwest Center was built in Omaha.

Green Day, Martina McBride and Kelly Clarkson were just a few of the shows that bailed on Lincoln and performed in Omaha instead this year, Lorenz said. He said a new arena is critical if Lincoln wants to get some of the more popular acts geared toward college students - such as Incubus or the Pixies - to return.

The floor plans of the John Paul Jones arena at the University of Virginia, displayed behind Lorenz, showed what the inside of the arena could look like.

"It's got a real good basketball feel, and the seats are retractable," Lorenz said. "We could have a basketball game one day and monster trucks two days later."

Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler was there and said he received questions about "a whole number of things."

"(People) are concerned about the design and how we're putting this together," Beutler said. "And just how it looks overall."

Ron Liston, a retired employee of the department of roads and public works, spoke to Beutler for several minutes about what the arena would do for the city's economy.

"I wanted to know if their would be any property tax implications," said Liston, who currently sells and rents houses. "I can't get (my houses) rented or sold, and I would be against (the arena) if there would be any increase in property taxes."

Liston also said he thinks Lincoln should be spending more money to bring jobs, not just entertainment, to the area.

Beutler said building the arena would make Lincoln more appealing for businesses to settle here.

But the arena isn't just about entertainment and business opportunities. It's also about Husker hoops.

"People want to know if we will play in the arena," Tom Osborne said. "And the answer is yes."

Osborne, the athletic director for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said it would be cheaper to build a practice facility for NU basketball connected to the arena rather than a separate one somewhere else.

Every Big 12 basketball team either has or is in the process of building a practice facility, and Osborne said Nebraska needs one to stay competitive.

WRK, a Lincoln real estate developing company, has created four separate renovation plans, each one tweaked slightly from the others. The differences between the plans include the locations of an ice rink, a parking lot and festival space as well as necessary changes to the roads to prevent traffic congestion.

The public got a chance to fill out questionnaires about the four different plans.

Cathy Beecham of the West Haymarket Action Team helped put on the public meeting last night.

She said a common misconception people have about the proposal is that the arena would be built to compete with the Qwest Center.

"It is not going to overshadow the Haymarket ... We're not going to put an ultra-modern arena next to the historic Lincoln Station," she said. "Think of it like stitching two blankets together."

But the meeting left some people like Lincoln resident Ed Foster unconvinced the arena would be built for the right reasons. Foster said he is worried Lincoln won't be able to support the arena.

"Look at the Pershing and Centennial Mall," he said. "We don't take care of anything we build anyway."

ryanboetel@dailynebraskan.com