Omaha WH's Tom Shatel offers his take on the Des Moines Tourney Site

uthaman

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They *should* have built this down near MLK, IMO. Would have tied in with court and all.

Actually that was the original consultant recommendation. It would have shared parking with SecTaylor and been visible coming down Fluer behind Gray's Lake. Would have been nice. But, the city leaders needed to keep Vets tied into the new complex in some form to save their political skins. They also wanted it near 235 because it makes a neat picture from the never used pedestrian bridge near the river...
 

kingcy

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Actually that was the original consultant recommendation. It would have shared parking with SecTaylor and been visible coming down Fluer behind Gray's Lake. Would have been nice. But, the city leaders needed to keep Vets tied into the new complex in some form to save their political skins. They also wanted it near 235 because it makes a neat picture from the never used pedestrian bridge near the river...

I would rather have it where it is than down by the Princ park. It is in a good location now. They way they have been improving the whole area event center is what the city needs. The area around the Arena and from the arena to Court ave will get better over time.
 

mcblogerson

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It is strange that they didn't build WF closer to Court Ave to make a more fan friendly arena district like every other major city does. I doubt any UK or UI fan was like "hey I wish I could have driven 3 hours longer to make it to Omaha".
 

kingcy

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It is strange that they didn't build WF closer to Court Ave to make a more fan friendly arena district like every other major city does. I doubt any UK or UI fan was like "hey I wish I could have driven 3 hours longer to make it to Omaha".

There is really not a place to build it where it would be closer. With the new Vets and Hy Vee hall it makes a nice event center all in one place where it is, that was the goal of this. I know that 5 min walk is a killer and all but it is not that big of deal. Even if they would have put it by the ball Pric Park it is a walk to Court Ave and there would be nothing close to the Arena.
 

Al_4_State

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It seems like his biggest complaint was the distance to the bars and restaurants, but I've walked from the Old Market to Century Link for concerts and it didn't seem any closer than Court Ave to WFA.

I'll agree that WFA isn't a luxurious arena, but that's honestly the least important factor for me. I care more about the nearby entertainment district and Court Ave/East Village are some of my favorite places anywhere to drink and have dinner.
 

NorthCyd

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A tweet from from Chris Jones, who is apparently a photo journalist for WHO and retweeted by Keith Murphy:

"Just chatting with an NCAA official in OKC.Mentioned we were from DSM. She replied "That was one of the best host cities EVER" @MurphyKeith"

Sounds like Des Moines did OK.
 

hoiballin33

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I went to the session 2 games on Thursday. I think it went just fine. Couple of improvement areas:

Open up all the cash registers at concessions
Staff double the concession workers
Staff double the ticket scanners
Quadruple the amount of beer stands at the Fan Fest

Other than that I think DSM did a great job hosting. Between the experience in the arena and the street party events it was a heck of a fun weekend.

Edit:

Not sure why people felt the need to complain about distance to bars/food. It's literally a 5 minute walk DOWN the hill to Court Ave. That being said, I'm sure that segment of people would complain regardless of proximity unless if the bars were literally across the street from their assigned seating section.
 

Mtowncyclone13

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If bar owners thought they could make money they'd buy real estate closer to/across from WFA. I'm sure the state teacher's union would sell if the price was right. It's all about the market.

it's easier to relocate a $500,000 bar or $1m building than it is to build a $150m arena.
 

HFCS

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A tweet from from Chris Jones, who is apparently a photo journalist for WHO and retweeted by Keith Murphy:

"Just chatting with an NCAA official in OKC.Mentioned we were from DSM. She replied "That was one of the best host cities EVER" @MurphyKeith"

Sounds like Des Moines did OK.

The article in the OP is about the most "Nebraska" thing I've ever read in my life. A sport the state sucks at and doesn't care about...but they still have to delude themselves they're the best NCAA host city in the nation because that's what Nebraska does.
 

Prone2Clone

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The article in the OP is about the most "Nebraska" thing I've ever read in my life. A sport the state sucks at and doesn't care about...but they still have to delude themselves they're the best NCAA host city in the nation because that's what Nebraska does.

Why does Nebraska want to act like Texas all the time?
 

SC Cy

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I live in Omaha and think it's a fine city. My problem with Omaha is most people here want to claim this city as the end-all-be-all of Midwestern cities. Instead of growing internally the city continues to annex smaller towns. It's a loooooong city that has a poor route from the western side of the city to the Old Market.

Des Moines seems to be a little edgier of a city, a little closer to trends. It's a very self deprecating city that knows its place. Des Moines has suburbs with substance and doesn't try to annex just to add to its population.

Two things I complain about with Omaha...

1. The pizza in this city is dreadful. Seriously, it's a tasteless wasteland.

2. The local sports radio is awful. There is no ISU/Iowa checks and balance system. Husker football two-deeps in February is all they've got.
 

isufbcurt

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I have heard that Des Moines submitted another bid to host for 2019, hopefully ISU isn't the host school this time.
 

CarrollCyclone

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The article in the OP is about the most "Nebraska" thing I've ever read in my life. A sport the state sucks at and doesn't care about...but they still have to delude themselves they're the best NCAA host city in the nation because that's what Nebraska does.

Omaha has done very well for itself hosting the CWS and NCAA tournaments in basketball and the Final Four in volleyball. Omaha has also sold out Olympic Swim trials several times. The city does a very, very good job at running big time sporting events.
 

frontrangeclone

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Tom seems like a typical Husker fan, butt hurt his Bluejays aren't in the big dance this year. Jealous that his neighbors to the east have relevant sports teams.


Dead on letsCYber- because here's a column he did the weekend of the selection show.. making it sound like "it's all good here.. we don't mind not having a team in the Dance this year..."

http://www.omaha.com/sports/shatel-...cle_96096ec4-270c-5707-bae0-de436725ee6a.html

I lived in rural (western) Nebraska for four years.. and yes, those people do not give two $#!+$ about basketball, except for those sophisticated Omaha Jayskers who love CU basketball. And speaking of, would any Nebraskan acknowledge how many Iowans have helped make Creighton hoops over the last 15 years?

I've never know a state's population with such an inferiority complex than Nebraska. They act like they are their own nation. As someone posted in a prior post, DM and Iowa in general know and accept who they are and can make fun of themselves (a la outlets like Murph and Andy, Raygun etc..), but yet have deep and quiet pride in the state and its people. And yes, their radio in Omaha-Lincoln is like state run radio in a communist country, with directives coming straight from the AD dept at kNU.
 

drmwevr08

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I didnt read the article because I dont care what TS says. I figured he'd try to make Omaha sound better anyway. I just measured on google and its essentially the same distance to court ave or the edge of the old market so that argument is silly. I've lived in both places and to say either is far better is a stretch. If you get down to real particularities I'm sure you could find bigger disparities but they are about the same as far as most things go. Omaha's size might yield a few differences here and there.
At the moment, Century Link is poised to have a markedly improved atmosphere much closer, which may make a difference eventually.

As for the poster saying annexing suburbs is a bad thing, talk to anyone in DSM government and they will tell you they wished they could have. That was just a silly statement on your part.

Glad DSM did well with their hosting duties!