City Council votes to put proposed Haymarket arena on ballot
Daily Nebraskan
February 9, 2010
By Andrew Lamberson
The Lincoln City Council voted 6-0 to put the proposed Haymarket arena on the ballot for the May 11 primary.
The council also passed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln memorandum 6-0 to be included with the project. Council member Jon Camp abstained on both votes.
More than 25 of the 135 Lincolnites at the meeting spoke for or against the decision to place the arena on the ballot, but most were there to express their opinion on whether they wanted the arena at all.
“It was exciting in many ways to see a full house tonight,” said council chairman Doug Emery.
Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler said before the meeting the approval of the arena would be “a giant step forward for Lincoln.”
The NU Athletic Department would sign a 30-year lease starting in 2013 for both men’s and women’s basketball to play at the arena, paying $750,000 in annual rent. Each team would play a minimum of 15 home games per year.
The arena would also most likely host events like the high school state basketball and volleyball tournaments. It could also attract larger musical acts like the artists who perform at Omaha’s 18,300-seat Qwest Center.
The proposed 16,000-seat arena itself is expected to cost $168 million, according to arena coordinator Dan Marvin. These funds would be based on a public/private partnership.
“We have low interest rates,” Marvin said. “We have low construction costs; we’ve discussed a means of replacing the Pershing (Auditorium), and we have a need for jobs,” he said in the closing remarks of the meeting before the vote.
Voters will determine the fate of the arena on the May 11 primary.
“Lets let the voters decide,” Emery said.
