State Fair VS Husker Football (Omaha, Lincoln: live in, deal, cities)

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

All the pompous a$$es who think GI is incapable of putting the fair on need to first take a trip to GI, second realize nearly all states in the midwest have a state fair in a smaller city, .

You mean other than:

Ohio - Columbus (largest city)
Michigan - Detroit (largest city)
Wisconsin - Milwaukee (largest city)
Indiana - Indianapolis (largest city)
Iowa - Des Moines (largest city)
Minnesota - Minneapolis (largest city)

And those state fair (except Michigan) draw significantly more people than the Nebraska State Fair ever will in its new location.

[Sandhills Guru]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

The State Fair was an after thought to most on game days. And for the most part the State Fair is an after thought to most of those in Lincoln and Omaha.

Why do people assume the SF will "wither" in GI?? Check your facts. Apart from the Iowa State Fair, ALL state fairs in adjacent states are in towns that are much much smaller than their biggest cities.

The State Fair is going to a place where people actually care about it. Moreover, its going to a place where quite frankly they don't have a lot of other entertainment options. As a result, the will very much embrace the State Fair and make it a first class operation.

All the pompous a$$es who think GI is incapable of putting the fair on need to first take a trip to GI, second realize nearly all states in the midwest have a state fair in a smaller city, and third GI has done quite well with things such as Fonner Park horse racing, Husker Harvest days, and Stuhr Museum. As you see these elements merge into the state fair along with the local support you'll see a first class event.

You hit it on the head.

[laserdisque]

On omaha.com they had a poll asking if people were going to head over to the fair this year. When I voted the "yes" vote was at 9%. Take it for what it's worth, a silly online poll.

[itsMeFred]

The better question is how many people would have gone if it were still in Lincoln...

[Happygolucky]

Any word on attendance this weekend? Just wondering?

[DTO Luv]

I would make it down every so often in Lincoln if they had a band I liked. I probably won't ever go again now that it's in Grand Island. There's nothing to gain from that drive that can't be found closer.

[Gunluvver2]

If any of you like to fish or hunt a trip to Grand Island will put you a lot closer to some great hunting & fishing. Squirrel season and Dove season will both be open during the fair and of course fishing year around. Stop off and spend some time at the Fair on your way to and from some of the best hunting and fishing areas on the planet.

GL2

[mattpoulsen]

Jlawrence,

Those are fair examples. I was really referencing the great plains states (thus my initial "adjacent" reference) but my all encompassing midwest description obviously didn't get that across. All the states surrounding Nebraska, except Iowa, have their fairs in smaller cities.

Dsrich,

It takes time to build something like this. I'll compare numbers after about 10 years. Clearly numbers in the first couple years will be down. That's to be expected. Its a fair, not a rock concert. It'll take a number of years to incorporate new venues, traditions, and activities. And it will take some time for the rest of the state to get used to it there too.

[pheaton]

I've heard some reports that attendance is great in Grand Island. Anyone else heard that?

[Sandhills Guru]

Fair officials said attendance through Tuesday was more than 120,000 people, shy of last year's abnormally high attendance _ when the fair had its last hurrah in Lincoln and spent more money brining in entertainment _ but above 2008's numbers and roughly on par with attendance the previous few years.