Consultant: Lincoln is good market for new arena
Lincoln Journal Star
October 6, 2009
A consultant hired to study the potential economic impact of a new arena in Lincoln says it appears to be a good project.
Michael O'Sullivan has worked in real estate development and sports and entertainment projects for the past 30 years and has worked on a "couple dozen" such economic studies in his career.
"My gut feeling is this is a good market, that this arena should do well," O'Sullivan said. "This is a good market for this size arena."
But he only analyzed economic benefits of a new arena; he said Lincoln's next step is to look at the cost and who pays for what.
O'Sullivan was in Lincoln to talk about the results of an economic impact study by Leib Advisors of Mequon, Wis. Leib is a consulting company that advises professional sports teams, universities and cities on the feasibility, economic impact and financing of arenas and stadiums.
The $55,000 study was paid for by the city of Lincoln through the Municipal Infrastructure Redevelopment Fund.
The study projected a new arena would have a $44 million annual economic impact - both direct and indirect - by its fourth year of operation.
However, O'Sullivan acknowledged, consultants are rarely hired to do postproject analysis to see whether their projections were right. But he said other communities' experiences are relied upon for the economic studies.
He said Lincoln officials have done "very important and careful physical planning."
Mayor Chris Beutler said he found the study "very compelling" and intends to promote it during "every little talk I give" until the spring city election.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
