During state fair, UNL boss says it should move for university
Posted: Friday, August 31, 2007
LINCOLN (AP) -- Fans of the Nebraska State Fair and its century-old location might have choked on their cotton candy Thursday had they attended a speech by a top University of Nebraska official just blocks away.
As the fair played on at State Fair Park, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman expressed support for moving the fairgrounds, according to an advance copy of his annual state-of-the-university speech.
A group of Lincoln business leaders spawned the idea of moving the fair from its current location -- just north of downtown and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus -- six miles away to the northeastern edge of the city near the Lancaster Event Center.
Perlman said university acquisition of the fairgrounds would free up space for public-private research facilities and act as a "bridge" to connect the downtown and east campuses of the university.
"It would provide space for a unique public and private sector research development effort as well as economic growth for Nebraska," Perlman, who is a member of the board of the state fair, said in the speech.
"This expansion of the university need not come at the expense of the state fair. The future success of the state fair is better assured if it were located at a different location because the scarcity of land and the aging infrastructure at its current site limits its potential."
The majority of the fair's board does not share Perlman's opinion, and the chairman of the board said while at the fair Thursday that people across the state have been telling him "don't let them move the fair."
"To move us out of here creates all kinds of problems," said Jerry Fitzgerald, the chairman. "If they want our property and to move us, I doubt very much the citizens of Nebraska would be in favor of spending $70 million to $100 million to move these fairgrounds."
Fitzgerald said attendance figures so far this year suggest that the trend over the last few years of increased attendance will continue. Last year, the total gate count was about 290,000 people, a 10 percent increase over the previous year.
Voters in 2004 passed a constitutional amendment that directs $2 million a year to the fair in lottery proceeds, and those opposed to a move say they did so with the understanding the fair would remain at State Fair Park.
While the university would like to bolster its research capabilities, State Fair Park is not the only location officials are eyeing for expansion. A massive project in the core of Lincoln that melds flood-control improvements with urban revitalization will remove about 60 acres of university land from the flood plain in a couple years, helping pave the way for what Perlman called a research corridor.
The university plans $80 million worth of construction, including a new physical sciences building, nanoscience building and a life-sciences research facility. Additionally, officials are hoping for a $50 million agricultural research facility that would have space for some UNL scientists.
Some areas of university research are now constrained, Perlman said, because of inadequate facilities.
That doesn't appear to be hurting overall enrollment at the university, which Perlman said he expects to increase significantly this year, for the third consecutive year.
As the fair played on at State Fair Park, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman expressed support for moving the fairgrounds, according to an advance copy of his annual state-of-the-university speech.
A group of Lincoln business leaders spawned the idea of moving the fair from its current location -- just north of downtown and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus -- six miles away to the northeastern edge of the city near the Lancaster Event Center.
Perlman said university acquisition of the fairgrounds would free up space for public-private research facilities and act as a "bridge" to connect the downtown and east campuses of the university.
"It would provide space for a unique public and private sector research development effort as well as economic growth for Nebraska," Perlman, who is a member of the board of the state fair, said in the speech.
"This expansion of the university need not come at the expense of the state fair. The future success of the state fair is better assured if it were located at a different location because the scarcity of land and the aging infrastructure at its current site limits its potential."
The majority of the fair's board does not share Perlman's opinion, and the chairman of the board said while at the fair Thursday that people across the state have been telling him "don't let them move the fair."
"To move us out of here creates all kinds of problems," said Jerry Fitzgerald, the chairman. "If they want our property and to move us, I doubt very much the citizens of Nebraska would be in favor of spending $70 million to $100 million to move these fairgrounds."
Fitzgerald said attendance figures so far this year suggest that the trend over the last few years of increased attendance will continue. Last year, the total gate count was about 290,000 people, a 10 percent increase over the previous year.
Voters in 2004 passed a constitutional amendment that directs $2 million a year to the fair in lottery proceeds, and those opposed to a move say they did so with the understanding the fair would remain at State Fair Park.
While the university would like to bolster its research capabilities, State Fair Park is not the only location officials are eyeing for expansion. A massive project in the core of Lincoln that melds flood-control improvements with urban revitalization will remove about 60 acres of university land from the flood plain in a couple years, helping pave the way for what Perlman called a research corridor.
The university plans $80 million worth of construction, including a new physical sciences building, nanoscience building and a life-sciences research facility. Additionally, officials are hoping for a $50 million agricultural research facility that would have space for some UNL scientists.
Some areas of university research are now constrained, Perlman said, because of inadequate facilities.
That doesn't appear to be hurting overall enrollment at the university, which Perlman said he expects to increase significantly this year, for the third consecutive year.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
