Funding issue could alter motocross project construction

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By JEAN ORTIZ / Lincoln Journal Star

Feeling the growing impatience of a key financial supporter, organizers of a motocross project planned for Abbott Sports Complex may be changing their approach to starting the project.

The project has received  $405,100 in grants from the federal Recreational Trails Program. The grants are awarded locally by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which relies on an advisory committee to determine how to distribute the money.

Although the committee has not backed off its commitments to date, it is not recommending additional funding for fiscal year 2008, according to a statement from the Game and Parks Commission.

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Del Lienemann, president of the of Abbott Sports Complex, goes over a map of the Abbott Sports Complex area with nearby residents at a neighbor's meeting for the proposed motocross track at Abbott in 2005. (LJS file)

Del Lienemann, president of the of Abbott Sports Complex, goes over a map of the Abbott Sports Complex area with nearby residents at a neighbor's meeting for the proposed motocross track at Abbott in 2005. (LJS file)

To get more funding, the committee said, it needs to see more progress.

Del Lienemann Jr., president of the Lincoln Sports Foundation, which operates the Abbott Sports Complex at 7600 N. 70th St., has opposed building in increments, which could result in a half-finished project, he has said.

He said he would start work on the project if the advisory committee could assure him it would follow through with more funding.

“If we had that kind of commitment, we’d be in good shape,” he said.

But Lienemann said even that plan makes him nervous, particularly considering the committee reneged on a past pledge to fund the project over the next few years.

A committee resolution acknowledges that pledge of funding through fiscal year 2009, though it was made with the understanding that work would begin as soon as possible. Significant progress should have been made to show that the project organizers are committed to completing the project, according to the resolution.

As proposed, the 1.5-mile track would sit on 40 acres and be used for public recreation and competitive events.

The $405,100 is the most the trails program has pledged to any project in Nebraska, the Game and Parks Commission said.

The project is also supported by the Lancaster County Board, which offered $50,000 in keno money to cover preliminary costs and agrreed to extend Arbor Road east of 70th Street to the site.

The project is a complex one, involving federal, state, county and private sources.

Even with funding, the project can’t budge without federal approval, Lienemann said. Project organizers are waiting for a go-ahead from the Federal Highway Administration, which finances the Recreational Trails Program.

Federal officials were not able to confirm the status of that approval on Wednesday.

Glenn Johnson, general manager of the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, said he has been told that decision could come as early as late January.

The NRD would administer the federal grant money OK’d for the project and oversee construction.

Dr. David Samani, a local trauma surgeon and motocross enthusiast, is leading the charge for the project, with support from a 200-member riding association. He told the County Board recently he’d like to see a basic track up by spring and more involved improvements by  fall.

That would show some progress and hopefully help secure federal grant money in next year’s request cycle, said Johnson.

Lienemann said he’s skeptical about a spring opening. To have a track available to the public could take four or five months to complete a final design, plus time to complete access to the site, he said.

Based on Johnson’s request, county officials are hoping to complete Arbor Road by fall. That extension is needed so construction vehicles wouldn’t be using the same Abbott entrance as participants and spectators.

The entire motocross project is projected to cost $3.5 million. Besides the track and parking, plans also call for a scoring tower, maintenance facility and parking for recreational vehicles. Samani’s group hopes some of the cost will be covered by private donations.

Organizers hope the track would attract regional and national competitions.

Reach Jean Ortiz at 473-7107 or jortiz@journalstar.com.