Community members share their visions

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By HILARY KINDSCHUH / Lincoln Journal Star

The talk wasn’t about 2015 Vision’s ideas for Lincoln, it was about Lincoln’s visions for the group.

As 11 people filtered into the classroom at Lincoln North Star High School, group facilitator Chris Andersen wrote on the marker board the question of the evening: How would the 2015 Vision help Lincoln as a community?

About 130 people came to North Star on Wednesday night for the third of four community conversations about revitalization projects proposed by 2015 Vision, a group of local leaders that is proposing projects it says are necessary to keep the city’s economy growing and to keep its best and brightest young people from moving away.

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The projects include building a new arena, convention center and hotel in the Haymarket; establishing a research and development corridor stretching from downtown to the UNL campus; and moving the State Fair to the grounds of the Lancaster Event Center to give UNL room to grow.

Members hope to accomplish the group’s goals through public-private partnerships, much like the one among the city, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebco that produced the Haymarket Park baseball stadium and softball complex.

The group is partnering with Leadership Lincoln and several community leaders for the meetings, which include an overview of the projects, followed by small-group discussions and a one-hour question-and-answer session.

Back in the classroom, the group discussed various aspects of the projects.

Mike Stroup said he thought the proposal for a new arena, convention center and hotel would have the biggest impact on the city.

“I hope people see past the word ‘concerts,’” Stroup said. “It’s not just about concerts — it’s about the whole package.”

The arena could also bring in conventions, sports functions and other sources of revenue for the city by bringing in visitors, who would spend money while they’re here, he said.

“They stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, buy in our shops,” Stroup said.

Lyle Bigley said because many of the proposals would depend on tourism for revenue, focusing on bringing a research and development corridor to UNL “seems to be the only way money would come in for sure.”

The small-group discussion also raised a lot of questions.

Dean Barrett wanted to know whether there would be adequate parking in the Haymarket and downtown.

Lincoln Deputy Fire Chief Pat Borer wondered whether the city has the population and infrastructure to support the project.

Richard Esquivel asked whether John Q. Citizen would be able to afford the events that would come after the projects were completed.

Barrett asked how the city would keep housing affordable and attractive so people would want to live here.

As the end of the discussion nears, Andersen posed a final question: “Five years from today, if we look back on this ... how do we measure success?”

Earlier that evening, before the meeting began, 2015 spokesman Kent Seacrest praised the questions people had been raising at the community conversations.

“We’re not getting any broad sense at all that any of the pillars are wrong,” Seacrest said. “It’s more a question of ‘how?’”

And that’s a great question, he said.

“They’ve given us our assignment to go do our homework and get some answers.”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com.