Another pro-Haymarket Arena group has just formed, and it's run entirely by students. The group Students for the Haymarket Arena was organized by Matt Schaefer, a third-year law student and former Association of Students of the University of Nebraska president, and Megan Collins, a senior business administration major and current ASUN president.
Collins said she hopes students can campaign for the arena like a student election group, much like an ASUN election.
"(We want to) not only let students know that this is happening," Collins said, "but also they represent a pretty significant voting block."
The proposed arena would be located in the Haymarket on part of what is now a rail yard for Burlington Northern Santa Fe. In February, the Lincoln City Council voted to put the arena on the ballot for the May 11 city election.
Students for the Haymarket Arena is the first student-run group to surface out of the Lincoln arena movement. A pro-arena group backed by Mayor Chris Beutler and UNL Athletic Director Tom Osborne and an opposition group, No2Arena, have also played a big part in the arena vote.
Schaefer explained the arena would benefit students.
"A new arena will have a new facility for our sports teams," he said, "and campus recreation will have the ability to have broomball games during daylight hours and not at 2 in the morning."
Schaefer added that students could also benefit from the proposed retail space that will go along with the arena as well as concert space.
"This project has the potential to really elevate the status of our community," Collins said. "It gives our basketball teams a place to play that they can be proud of, and it gives UPC (University Program Council) another venue."
Because of the close proximity of the proposed arena to campus, Schaefer said it would make it easier for students to enjoy sporting events in a downtown setting.
"I went to a basketball doubleheader for the men's and women's teams," he said. After the first game was over, fans had to leave the Bob Devaney Sports Center in between games so it could be prepared for the second game. "It was a miserable rainy day. What did people do? They went home, or they waited in their cars. Sticking it (the arena) downtown maximizes the foot traffic."
Collins and Schaefer said they are trying to reach students in any way possible.
"The typical strategy is posters and events on campus," Schaefer said. "We'll try and get in front of as many groups as we can and go door-to-door in the dorms and greek houses."
The kickoff meeting for Students for the Haymarket Arena will happen tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Regency Suite A in the Nebraska Union. It will be open to all students.
"Any time we can make Lincoln a better place," Collins said, "it makes the university, in turn, a little better."
andrewlamberson@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
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