An Open Letter in Support of a Stadium

Fellow Nebraskans,

We at WGaH don’t often try to dip our hands into anything other than lower division soccer.  However, there’s something we feel needs the support of as many Nebraskans as possible.

The Nebraska Examiner recently published an article with the news many fans of Union Omaha had been waiting for: news of progress on a soccer specific stadium (SSS) in the city limits of Omaha.  The news has understandably come with mixed reactions, as such projects often do, ranging from the “why does Omaha need another stadium” to “no one watches soccer” to the biggest hurdle – “why should Nebraska contribute state funds to a project that benefits the few”.  Most of those points are valid and we would be fools to dismiss the arguments in favor of hype.  The truth of the matter is, soccer is growing in popularity in the US, now the 4th-most watched sport in the country.  Those fans are young with disposable incomes and looking for community.

What does a new stadium provide that doesn’t already exist in Omaha?  To begin with, this is a tough question when you consider Creighton University, a private Catholic university in downtown Omaha, has a ~6000 seat SSS stadium in the downtown area.  What is likely less known is that sharing that stadium with a professional team or two (as the Examiner’s article says) will play at the proposed new SSS.  This would likely void the non-profit status that property holds, opening it to the high property taxes of downtown Omaha.  This, if you are a Creighton administrator, negates a full season share with any professional team.  Less so, the land reverts to the tax base in Omaha, something that a proposed SSS occupied by Union Omaha would provide.  Secondly, a SSS and accompanying development around it in the North Downtown area of Omaha provides something the Omaha metro is lacking: a professional sports team in the heart of a vibrant revival of the riverfront area.  A professional sports team that Omaha can call its own, providing that sense of community that younger people often may feel is lacking as Omaha knocks on the door of a million-person metro.

How does the stadium benefit me, soccer fan or not?  Now here’s the question that really gets to it.  Frankly, Omaha has seen idiotic corporate schemes that have, under the guise of progress, promised big rewards for the city only to undermine the nature, culture, and heritage of the city.  What may be lost in the talk of $50 million dollars of public funds being proposed to invest in the stadium development is that, unlike ConAgra or Mutual, there’s no threat of this team picking up its headquarters and moving to a bigger city with a deeper talent base.  To the contrary, this development seeks to curb the overwhelming “brain drain” Nebraska faces by providing to the community the meaning of the stars on the team’s shield: People, Place, Purpose.  By not only, as mentioned earlier, building a stadium and surrounding development (likely on one of the countless vacant parking lots in Omaha) that pays taxes on the land and value of development, but also giving another value added attraction to the urban heart of Omaha, the SSS is almost certain to be a boon to Omaha as opposed to bust.

Why should I care about another “minor league” sports team trying to raise taxes and take land that could be used for a greater communal benefit?  Firstly, the proposed bill in committee in Lincoln, LB621, would not raise taxes.  As we understand it, the bill would reward those willing to invest in growing development in Nebraska by offering a matching grant of up to $50 million from the state’s budget surplus.  In supporting this bill, you are supporting another tool for Nebraska to increase development in the state.  In essentially incentivizing investment, you put Nebraska first for investors who were looking at Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, or Colorado for where their next project would be.  Secondly, Omaha is a parking lot, and based on the context of land being secured is not purchasing public land, negotiating with the City of Omaha to remove land already accessible to the public from the existing land bank. With the proposal listing “north downtown” the land will likely involve repurposing blighted former industrial areas or the utilization of paved lots/derelict rail lines.  The potential benefits to the tax base, and population makeup are huge; definitely something any resident of Nebraska should be excited to see for their state.

Now we get to the final question here; We hope you’re all waiting to ask: How do I help make this happen?  Right now the best ways to help are writing or calling the Nebraska policy makers sitting on the committee that has final say of whether LB621 makes it to the floor of the Unicameral for a vote.  Here are the names of the committee members for the Banking, Commerce and Insurance committee:

• Sen. Julie Slama (Chairperson)
• Sen. Eliot Bostar
• Sen. Kathleen Kauth
• Sen. Raymond Aguilar
• Sen. Beau Ballard
• Sen. R. Brad von Gillern
• Sen. Mike Jacobson
• Sen. George Dungan

Please consider reaching out to them if you support vitalizing downtown Omaha, retaining talent, and bringing a winning club to the heart of the metro.

We thank you for taking the time to read through this, and look forward to continuing to bring you Omaha soccer content for as long as you’ll listen.

With gratitude:

Bryan Daily

Ryan LeGrande

Christine Johnson

Morgan O’Rear

Jonathan Ryan

Richard Flemings

Luke Opperman