[star_gazer]

Well some of us actually enjoy the local sports scene... some are more interested in the prestige of having professional sports. Yes, I'll go out on a limb and say that we are not a large enough market to support any of the 'big 4'.

While the Royals are below average in AAA attendance... we are also among the smaller cities. Much larger cities than ours seem to be content with minor league baseball. I am confident that a move downtown, in a right sized ball park will generate a renewed interest and we'll see attendance rise considerably.

As for our other sports... they are all considered to be above average in attendance in their respective leagues. So... while some will never be pleased until we have a truly professional franchise... others of us will continue to enjoy good sports entertainment in the interim.

Oh, and by the way... many much larger cities would love to have a collegiate basketball program with the drawing power of Creighton. Even the UNO Mavericks are the 6th highest attendance drawing division I hockey team in the nation... averaging more than the AHL.

So no... I respectfully disagree... Omaha's sports scene is far from being a 'bust'.

[Steve_W]

I knew I wouldn't get a great response but I stand by my post. I find it nauseating even thinking about going to a royals/beef/maverick/lancers etc. game.

A couple points here:

- Attendance will rise following the new stadium...for a while. People aren't avoiding going to Royals games because they don't want to be in Rosenblatt. They aren't going because they aren't interested in watching AAA baseball and a team that displays pathetic performances on a yearly basis.

- I never said anything negative about Creighton Basketball. I go to most of their home games and I find that to be Omaha's best asset and in a class of it's own.

I think if the entire Omaha metro took a poll my opinion would be shared by an overwhelming majority.
I'm simply saying we do not need any more semi-proffesional sports. We have enough.

[star_gazer]

I disagree on the Royals point.. I go to at least a half dozen times each season... and I find the atmosphere to be horrible... sitting in this cavernous stadium with a smattering of fans. Good atmosphere presents is it's own appeal. Assuming they design it right (with the originally proposed temporary seating to accomodate the larger crowds for the CWS... other times retaining a capacity in the 10k range)... the new ballpark will make for a much more close in/cozy setting. The crowd will be able to make it's presence felt... there is simply no possibility for that in Rosenblatt. The people will come... and again, it's proximity to the rest of downtown will make a huge difference. Consider at Rosenblatt... you drive in... go to the game... and drive home. There are so many other things to do in downtown before and after the game.

You didn't say anything negative about Creighton... and they certainly go a long ways towards making Omaha's sports seen anything but a 'bust'.

I'm not suggesting that we need more semi-pro sports either... but you might as well embrace what we have... because I can assure you... there are no major league franchises coming to Omaha for decades to come... and there are plenty of other up and coming cities out there, which would love to get their hands on the Royals (ie as bad as you think things are... they could be alot worse).

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by star_gazer

I disagree on the Royals point.. I go to at least a half dozen times each season... and I find the atmosphere to be horrible... sitting in this cavernous stadium with a smattering of fans. Good atmosphere presents is it's own appeal. Assuming they design it right (with the originally proposed temporary seating to accomodate the larger crowds for the CWS... other times retaining a capacity in the 10k range)... the new ballpark will make for a much more close in/cozy setting. The crowd will be able to make it's presence felt... there is simply no possibility for that in Rosenblatt. The people will come... and again, it's proximity to the rest of downtown will make a huge difference. Consider at Rosenblatt... you drive in... go to the game... and drive home. There are so many other things to do in downtown before and after the game.

You didn't say anything negative about Creighton... and they certainly go a long ways towards making Omaha's sports seen anything but a 'bust'.

I'm not suggesting that we need more semi-pro sports either... but you might as well embrace what we have... because I can assure you... there are no major league franchises coming to Omaha for decades to come... and there are plenty of other up and coming cities out there, which would love to get their hands on the Royals (ie as bad as you think things are... they could be alot worse).

I don't disagree with any of that. I myself am dissatisfied with what is available here so I guess that would be my problem.

I guess we will find out soon enough for the new ballpark. I will attend games because I love baseball and its downtown location would be great to get a drink afterward or a nice dinner. I just don't know how that will play out with the average person.

[ehenningsen]

I see both points on the royals...

Many of the top AAA attendance performing cities had a bad attendance rate before building a downtown ballpark..

And Steve, you pointed out probably the biggest reason why they are now top-performing in this league, it is due to a nice state of the art stadium near some fantastic amendities, and the NODO ballpark will make the Royals game go from a game with a hot-dog and a drive home, to making an even or night of it.

Creighton and UNO in certain sports have attendance rates higher than some very high-profile schools, and are truly becoming high-profile on their own not only as academic, but also with tradition and facilities.

The sports scene will improve in the next few years to another level with all the great facilities being built..