Showing posts with label Dennis Poppe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dennis Poppe. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Lies, damn lies and TV 'exclusives'

An NCAA letter that Campaign for Boorish Dignity head Garry Gernandt touts as proof that Rosenblatt Stadium can be saved and still ensure Omaha's future as the long-term host of the College World Series proves only one thing.

IT PROVES that Garry Gernandt is a numbskull, and that the loudmouthed, ill-mannered and sartorially challenged civic lynch mob he leads is on the verge of costing the city the series -- a blow that might well dwarf the shot Omaha took when Enron packed up and moved out in the 1980s.

Here's what KMTV television reporter Joe Jordan, desperate for a "gotcha,"
unveiled as his "big scoop" on today's 5 p.m. newscast:
Action 3 News has uncovered a letter from the NCAA that sheds new light on the stadium battle and could give the city a way out of the current uproar over plans for a new downtown stadium.

The letter was written two weeks before Mayor Fahey took his sales pitch for a new downtown ballpark to the NCAA in Indianapolis, telling the city a one to five year contract extension is possible when the current contract expires in 2008.

In the letter the NCAA clearly noted that, "The NCAA does not have a preference for any specific proposal." The letter was written before several angry public hearings where the Mayor was almost on trial, "You sir should lose your job for this," criticized one angry citizen.

In the letter to College World Series Inc. President jack Deising
[sic], the NCAA may have given the city an out, "If the local community is not of one mind regarding a long-term proposal for the College World Series, the NCAA would consider a traditional hosting term of five or fewer years."
IF YOU READ the actual letter, it's clear than the NCAA might not have a preference for any specific proposal for building a new ballpark. At least not before Omaha made its official pitch in Indianapolis last month. But what is clear from the letter is the NCAA does have a "preference" for -- at a bare minimum -- the kind of radical remake of Rosenblatt Stadium and the surrounding hardscrabble neighborhood that makes absolutely, positively no economic sense when compared to building anew downtown . . . and that it's quite ready to start looking elsewhere for what it demands.

Furthermore, the kind of renovation it's clear the NCAA would like to see at Rosenblatt would displace the Omaha Royals Triple-A baseball team for most of two seasons (likely to another city) and would take virtually the same amount of city revenues to pull off as would building anew in North Downtown next to the Qwest Center.

And if tax-phobic Omaha residents hate the thought that city fathers are plotting to soak them -- despite leaders' repeated denials -- to build a new downtown stadium, logic dictates that they ought to hate a renovation of Rosenblatt with the same level of paranoid, white-hot passion.

LET'S LOOK at what the letter actually says, as opposed to what Gernandt and Channel 3 have been touting.


AND WHAT
does the National Collegiate Athletic Association mean when the letter, by baseball director Dennis Poppe, refers to its "expectations of an atmosphere and venue that is befitting the College World Series"?

To get an idea of that, let's go back to what has been reported thus far in the press. First, we go back to Oct. 12 of last year
and open the pages of the Omaha World-Herald:
The details, found in private memos and letters reviewed by The World-Herald, support Mayor Mike Fahey's contention that the NCAA, not the mayor himself, is the driving force behind building a new $100 million stadium in north downtown.

But the letters also help explain why David Sokol, chairman of the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority, says that Fahey missed his chance early this year to strike a deal that would have retained the series with a much cheaper renovation of Rosenblatt Stadium.

Fahey disputes Sokol's contention, which the businessman made Thursday at a MECA meeting.

Both sides agree on one thing: the moment for a lower-cost renovation of Rosenblatt has passed.

A spokesman from the NCAA echoed that sentiment.

Bob Williams, managing director of media and public relations for the NCAA, said late Thursday: "If you keep Rosenblatt the way it is, it is not going to garner you a long-term agreement."
THERE WE HAVE from the horse's mouth that Rosenblatt as is is unacceptable as a long-term home for the CWS. So what does the NCAA want?

Again, from the World-Herald article from last fall:

On Feb. 23, city officials and Diesing made a formal Rosenblatt proposal to Dennis Poppe, the NCAA's managing director for football and baseball, in Fahey's office. The presentation was complete with flip charts and spread sheets, and Fahey and Diesing believed that it went well.

Then came the NCAA's response on March 12. The NCAA had a totally different concept:

"Build a new state-of-the-art facility to host the Men's College World Series in a location near downtown Omaha," the NCAA wrote in a memo to CWS Inc. "Not doing so amounts to putting an expensive band-aid over what ails aging Rosenblatt Stadium."

Sokol said his reading of the memo was that it was a suggestion to "think outside the box."

The memo points to the age of the stadium, which was built in 1948, as well as its services and amenities.

Rosenblatt has history, according to the NCAA memo, but what makes the CWS different from any other major championship is the affordability of tickets for families. And, according to the memo, affordability is what "makes the CWS so special, not the stadium."

The memo says some of Rosenblatt's character could be incorporated into a new downtown stadium, including moving the Road to Omaha statue to a brick plaza reminiscent of Rosenblatt's entrance.

The NCAA memo put a price tag on a new downtown stadium: $50 million.

The March memo from the NCAA concludes: "It is unlikely the proposed $26 million investment by the Omaha community for Rosenblatt will be the end of major capital improvement needs at the stadium in the next decade."

After receiving the memo, CWS Inc. and city officials brought in an architect to look at a downtown stadium plan. Fahey saw an opportunity to lock in a 20-year contract to ensure that the CWS would stay in Omaha through 2030. The initial downtown plan was presented to the NCAA in May.

On June 24, the NCAA wrote another memo, this time addressing both the downtown stadium plan and the proposed $26 million Rosenblatt renovation.

On Rosenblatt, the NCAA wrote: "There are limitations to Rosenblatt Stadium that are not addressed by the proposed renovation plan." The NCAA then gave an extensive list of problems from narrow concourses to the lack of a drug-testing area.

The NCAA asked whether the city was willing "to commit significantly more than the $26 million to the immediate and long-term needs of the facility."

The NCAA also raised its estimated cost of a new stadium to $100 million, noting that industry contacts consider it "more cost-effective to build a new facility rather than attempt to renovate an aging venue."

"Why would we not pursue the construction of a new stadium given this opinion from the industry?" the NCAA asked in the memo.

Then, on Aug. 28, a more detailed plan for a new stadium north of the convention center and arena was presented to a team of NCAA officials.

On Sept. 14, the NCAA response arrived. While taking no position on where a new stadium should be situated, the NCAA endorsed Omaha's plans. The city and CWS Inc. "have listened to the NCAA's stated needs for the College World Series," it said.

The mayor has formed a seven-person committee to look at all issues related to the ballpark, including rebuilding Rosenblatt.

Sokol, who will sit on that committee, believes that the $26 million renovation would have been enough to satisfy the NCAA had the mayor acted early this year. Now, Sokol believes, it will be much more expensive to keep the CWS.

Diesing, president of CWS Inc., said the process didn't break down, and there's no going back.
PLEASE, DO WE NEED any more evidence to the extent of Gernandt's and the Campaign for Boorish Dignity's utter disingenuousness, not to mention the extent to which TV journalism has become dumbed down and memory-challenged?

Joe Jordan and Garry Gernandt's "gotcha" letter from the NCAA concludes:

IT DOESN'T TAKE a rocket scientist to interpret "would consider a traditional hosting term of five or fewer years following the current agreement's conclusion in 2010." And, no, it does not mean
"Never mind, Omaha. We love you just the way you are."

It doesn't even mean Omaha will get a second chance to get its act together to save the series. It means what it says -- if the city can't come to a prompt agreement on giving the NCAA exactly what it wants -- in effect, a brand-new stadium in a better location or the virtual equivalent thereof -- the NCAA might give Omaha a very few years (or less) to give it exactly what it wants.

Then again, maybe not.

The one thing we do know for certain is there are other cities out there that want the College World Series, and they can give the NCAA exactly what it wants right now. Not in a decade or more . . . or never, if Garry Gernandt and his angry band of ill-mannered louts succeed in bullying the city government into hanging on to a stadium the NCAA no longer sees as fit for its second-largest championship event.

For that matter, a stadium the Omaha Royals aren't too keen on, either.

PERHAPS, in order to buck up city councilmen in the face of insurrection by the Campaign for Boorish Dignity, we can turn to the comments the Save Rosenblatt Committee has seen fit to post on
its own website. I think that would be pretty instructive:
* I have been to many a game there over the last few years and Rosenblatt contains a lot of my memories. My husband is against the demise also. Rosenblatt is a perfectly good stadium. We do not need to demise it and build another just to say we did. Thanks.

* Who wants to go to gun play area omaha to watch a game. NO Thanks


*
I GREW UP ON 12TH AND ARTHUR ST. 1947. ROSENBLATT STADIUM HAS BEEN THE ROCK OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. PERSONS THAT PURCHASED THEIR PROPERTY, KNEW THE STADIUM IS THERE. OMAHA SEEMS TO WANT TO REDO EVERYTHING. ARK-SAR-BEN IS NOT AROUND ANYMORE. MORE SHOPPING. ANYONE? PEONY PARK IS NOT AROUND ANYMORE, WHERE DOES ONE GO, FOR AMUSEMENT. I THOUGHT, WE WERE GOING TO BUILD A AMUSEMENT PARK DOWN TOWN, NOTTTTTTT. THE SANTA LUCHIA CELEBRATION IS DOWNTOWN, NOT ON 6TH ST. WHERE ALL OUR ANCESTORS, PARENTS GREW UP............ NOT THE SAME..................... ROSENBLATT STADIUM WAS USED YEARS AGO FOR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES, HOMECOMINGS, WHY DON'T WE USE IT FOR THAT TOO.

IF ROYALS OR WHO EVER WANTS A SMALLER STADIUM, THEY CAN BUILD THIER OWN AND KEEP ROSENBLATT. IF THEY WANT CROWDS OF PEOPLE FOR ROYALS, OFFER, TWO DOLLAR SEATS , IN THE ONES THAT ARE EMPTY. AND OFFER A DOLLAR CAN OF SODA IN THOSE AREAS. KIDS ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO. AS WELLS AS ADULTS ON LIMITED IMCOME. ALSO INSTEAD OF EMPTY LOT, OFFER HANDICAP PARKING FOR THOSE WITH WALKERS, WHEEL CHAIRS, ETC. GET REAL, STOP REDO THING, AND OFFER MORE TO OMAHA. THE POLITICIANS CAN AFFORD ANYTHING. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LIMITED IMCOME PEOPLE.

THANKS FOR OFFERING THIS WEBSITE TO SAVE, ROSENBLATT.


*
Don't gid rid of Rosenblatt!!! No matter how nice the new stadium would be, it would NOT be the same. SAVE ROSENBLATT!!!


*
Screw the zoo interests that want Rosenblatt to go away - this is the reality of the situation. The friggin' monkeys, lions and tigers want room to expand. Wrigley Field and Fenway exude the same aura that make Rosenblatt a special place during the CWS.


*
This is a stupid idea to have it close to Creighton and the Qwest as if traffic on Cumming is not bad enough during Bluejay games and I'm not keen on paying for parking for the Royals!!!!!

The NCAA is always talking about keeping the integrity in athletics, so put your money were your mouth is, LEAVE ROSENBLATT AND THE SERIES WERE IT IS, it's not broken, but the Bowl system is in football is, so FIX THAT!!!!!!!!
ON ONE SIDE of this colossal civic argument, you have facts, figures and a stack of correspondence from the NCAA outlining exactly what it wants for the CWS to stay in Omaha -- and that Rosenblatt ain't it.

On the other side, you have sentimentality, anger, some South Omahans worried their yard-parking franchise is about to disappear . . . and a deluded few who think the CWS will go away
if anybody changes Rosenblatt one iota.

In short, on the one side you have informed opinion -- opinion based on engineering, economics, financials and the NCAA's stated desires for the CWS -- while on the other, the Save Rosenblatt people are counting on the ill-informed to out-holler people who actually know what the hell they're talking about.

Sadly, the louts look like they might win in a rout.

I had thought Omaha was better than that. That's because I had forgotten exactly how good Omahans can be at shooting themselves in the foot . . . and deluding themselves about how manifest to the rest of America are the charms of a midsized city with an intemperate climate in the middle of "flyover country."