Minus the fact that on the biggest days of the year for bars and restaurants in Ames they wouldn't do any business. Calling it a dumb idea is putting it nicely. There's no easy access. There's nothing around it to get casual stops from people. In order to make any money they'd have to price students out and that's the majority of those who live in the immediate area.
While I fully acknowledge that it will never happen, if it were possible, it would be far from a dumb idea. You have low overhead (just employees and supplies) as you don't have rent, mortgage, or property taxes. Access is easy off of university and into Johnny's on the east side of Hilton. The issue you have is running a commercial establishment from a public property, which is why it won't work. If you were able to get past that point, it would be far from dumb. Johnny's inside of Hilton would be a nice draw, IMO.