Shatel was a hack "journalist" when I read that paper growing up, 20 years ago. Surprisingly hasn't changed much, except for the dapper hat.
He's got a small point about Wells Fargo Arena. It's in an odd spot, and the parking isn't great. I think people dealt with it fine, especially with the weather being like it was. It's a little unfortunate that
DSM is known for the skywalks, and the genius in charge decided to remove that from the equation. I know it's not that simple of a thing to work around, but they knew about the tourney a bit in advance.
But I can't think of any of this that Omaha has a leg up on Des Moines, though. I mean, Century Link Event Center isn't great, and no closer to the Old Market than WFA is to Court Ave. Though Old Market has probably 3x the things to do as Court.