The debate over the future of State Fair Park has been a loud one.

But the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chose a quiet day — the Saturday before Thanksgiving — to go public with a big, fair-related announcement of its own.

At exactly 1 p.m., UNL unveiled tentative plans for how it might use the fairgrounds should lawmakers decide to move the fair to make way for a university research and development campus.

The plans are bold: Dubbed Nebraska Innovation Park, they boast 1.6 million gross square feet of developed space, including 17 buildings dedicated at least partially to research, recreational space to boot and a large pond where the fair’s racetrack now sits.

And they make one thing clear: University leaders aren’t wavering in the least in their belief that the best use of the 251-acre fairgrounds is a research campus, a development, they say, that would stimulate Nebraska’s economy and create numerous new jobs.

“I have described what I want out there,” UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said Friday night. “Now it’s important for people to be able to visualize it.”

Not coincidentally, the unveiling comes just two days after a team of consultants told legislators that sprucing up the fair at its current location instead of building a new park would save more than $144 million, findings that sat well with fair leaders who don’t want to move.

The plans also come less than a week after Gov. Dave Heineman — who also has expressed reluctance to move the fair — announced he had asked university and fair leaders to discuss sharing the fairgrounds.

Perlman says he’s open to ideas, but skeptical co-existence could work. Absent from the Innovation Park model is any sign UNL’s vision includes sharing space with the fair.

Also absent is a price tag, a fact some fair leaders have been quick to seize on. Moving the fair, they say, is a multi-million dollar burden they’re unwilling to impose on taxpayers.

What Innovation Park plans do include are these: 886,000 square feet of privately developed space, 623,000 square feet of public space, 30,000 square feet of retail space and a 75,000-square-foot wellness center, plus tennis and volleyball courts, gardens and playing fields. The  Ice Box would be preserved as it is.

The fair’s Industrial Arts and 4-H buildings also would stay, with the hope they could become learning and multi-purpose space, Perlman said.

“It is, to me, a village-like feel.”

All of those features match what NU leaders have been touting for months: a mixed-use park like the successful Centennial Campus at North Carolina State, which features research, corporate activity and luxury amenities in a shared space.

“(The plan) does address the goals that we’ve discussed,” NU President J.B. Milliken said. “It addresses the kinds of successful planning elements that were used at Centennial — a mix of public and private uses, various amenities.”

NU leaders and 2015 Vision,  a coalition of local business leaders who proposed moving the fair more than a year ago, have yet to specify how much a research campus might cost.

They do say, though, that the campus would more than pay for itself.

Research funding at UNL has tripled in the past decade, with faculty bringing in more than $100 million in external research grants in the past year alone.

The Beadle Center, one of UNL’s top research buildings, has generated more than $100 million in new research money since it was built in 1995. If the Beadle’s model of success were applied to the Innovation Park, UNL says, the state could see a $1 billion boon over 10 to 12 years.

“Could it be more than that? Heck, yes, it could be,” said Bill Nunez, director of Institutional Research and Planning at UNL.

“The impact could be absolutely tremendous. Just imagine the possibilities.”

The university also says private-sector interest in setting up shop near campus is high.

An agriculture-related company has expressed interest in moving on or near campus soon, Perlman said, and it’s not the only one.

One environmental technology company based in Los Angeles even named specific UNL researchers with whom it would like to work, said John Brasch, associate vice chancellor for technology development.

“That’s just a taste of what’s out there,” he said. “I can tell you there’s interest.”

Vice Chancellor for Research Prem Paul believes a UNL research campus would be key in jump-starting Nebraska’s economy and keeping bright young minds in the state.

And if UNL does not pursue research growth, Paul said, it will lose out on competitive grants and top faculty, a trend he’s already beginning to see.

“Yes, we’re a small state. Yes, we’re not where we need to be,” he said. “But, my gosh, we’ve already shown we can compete in certain targeted areas.

“The potential for Nebraska is huge.”

Still, the fate of the fair will be decided by the Legislature, not the university, and lawmakers are weeks from publicly weighing in on the debate.

The Agriculture Committee has scheduled a public hearing on the issue for Dec. 14, and committee Chairman Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard has said members will have a recommendation ready for the full Legislature by the next day.

At least until then, fair leaders are reluctant to comment on UNL’s specific developments.

“The university is entitled to do whatever planning they wish,” said State Fair Board member Tam Allan. “They can present whatever they feel is in their best interest.”

UNL believes acquiring the fairgrounds is just that.

“We can’t be thinking five, 10 years,” Nunez said. “We have to be thinking 50 years, 100 years.

“We have one opportunity now. This might be it.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.