"The overwhelming majority of the citizens have spoken,” said Gernandt, who represents the area around Rosenblatt Stadium and is a leading opponent of building a new downtown stadium. “I’m not sure how else the mayor can spin the results of his three public forum"
That statement was made today by Councilmen Gernandt to the Omaha World Hearld today. This is the type RIDICULOUS crap that is causing a divide in our city. An OVERWHELMING majority? Are you kidding me? Our city has 400,000 people in it. Less than .005% (around 1,300 people showed over 3 events) of the city showed up for the Mayor's public hearings...and not everyone was against the proposal. What numbers are you using Mr. Councilmen? Some online poll or worse, are you just sticking your finger up into the air and going which direction the wind blows? You better have facts before you say something like that....and you don't have any to back up that statement.
South O needs to realize that the your greatest asset is the ZOO! Not the College World Series. You should want EVERYTHING to benefit the zoo long term and the new deal does that. He wants to spend $40 to $80 Million? You won't get a long term deal then! This is not hard to figure out!!
Man, this is politics at its worst....small mindedness is kiling this city right now. PLEASE call your Councilmen and wake them up!!
7 comments:
i loved today's forum on the stadium sponsored by matt with his special guest mike fahey. why not have dick cheney and donald rumsfeld on your show to discuss why americans should whole-heartedly support the war in iraq? same shills, different issue. what matt doesn't understand while spewing his skewed numbers and facts is that not everyone who is opposed to the stadium in the proposed location is "ignorant". hell, travis just learned yesterday that the NCAA would work with either proposal, downtown or rosenblatt. travis and matt want so badly for us all to fall in line with the downtown plan and even resort to calling those opposed to the plan names that it puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth. they end up sounding like the vice president and treasurer of the flat earth society when they parrot the mayor's party line and treat outdated information like breaking news. matt shouting down the leader of the save rosenblatt committee was journalism/interviewing at its best as well. matt didn't sound like a complete doofus during that interview, did he? what really gets lost in all of this debate (and most of you will think i am crazy for saying this) is that matt and trav trump up the zoo and its role in omaha's vitality as a reason for abandoning rosenblatt. have you guys been to the zoo? have you seen the cat house and the monkey/gorilla areas? those animals are miserable. someday (after we all evolve to the thinking of trav and matt and decide to build the downtown ballpark) we might all realize how cruel the zoo is to the animals and move beyond putting animals in cages and develop into the society which matt and trav think we are so reticent to become. also, the fact that matt believes so heartily in the mayor's figures and plan to be on track and accurate is laughable, especially for someone who professes to be so liberal and forward thinking in his ways.
I agree just because everyone does not agree with Matt he calls them names. What a joke. And to think that yesterday(3/12/08)the NCAA says that they have never told Omaha that we have to build a new stadium. If I remember correctly Fahey made it seem as if they had. He is an obvious liar and I for one cannot trust anything he says. Even his rebuttal to the recall was off point on a couple of statements.
Look, Rosenblatt is crappy...so understand that is where my point of view comes from....does it have history? Hell yes, but it is still a big brown turd.
Having said that, I am still not sold on the new stadium. I would be sold on it if a few things happened:
(a) Before we break ground and commit money, the NCAA signs a 25 yr contract contingent upon that new stadium getting done.
(b) Some sort of binding assurances that even if we get a 25 yr deal, the stadium won't be full of corporate hacks in 5 years. I can see it happening: Personal seat licenses. Pretty soon the only folks who can afford tickets to any decent seating at the new park are named Sokol, Buffet, Rickets, or are executives and employees of UP, Qwest, etc. If that is the price of the private money....it is not worth it to me. Who gives a flying !@#$ if the CWS is in Omaha if you can't go watch it because it is full of suits.
Matt, you may call those who oppose the stadium 'ignorant', but I know a shuck and jive when I see it....and this stinks of shuck and jive. Who is going to pay for the inevitable cost overruns, overestimated revenues when they happen? Property owners will. The convention center at the Qwest has been an unmitigated disaster. Where are the big dental conventions...the big trade shows...etc? We ain't getting them. Add to the price of the hotel rooms and we are gonna be getting less of them.
And let's not forget that Omaha is getting ready to deal with a federally-required (although not federally funded) sewer improvement project that is estimated to cost billions....BILLIONS.
Again, I would love to replace Rosenblatt. However, I am not convinced yet that we are not going to be left holding the bag.
You all are a bunch of moronic, fuddy duddy, typical red state Nebraska rubes. If you don't like progress and the continued growth of Omaha, move out to Grand Island or Hastings where you belong. You don't care about the city, all you want is a nice, stagnant place where you can feel safe.
Rosenblatt is a dump. If we lose the CWS, I hope you can sleep better at night, because your property taxes are going up. Then, you will blame the Mayor for losing the college world series and causing your taxes to go up, right?
I am ashamed to be an Omahan right now, it makes me sick that this city is full of uneducated half-wits (i.e. Jason Smith). A re-call election would further confirm the stereotypical view that people have of Omaha. The problem is, I am not so sure those stereotypes are untrue at this point.
Aric,
Since when did the city of Omaha become such a beacon of intellectual enlightenment?
Maybe the money can be better spent elsewhere. How about universal dental care for all Omahans? I have never seen a larger percentage of population with missing teeth. I moved here 2 ½ years ago and I am still embarrassed to have my friends visit. I feel like I have to take a shower anytime I cross east of 84th street.
Not sure why Matt cares about the stadium issue one way or another...it isn't like he's going to be here by the time it's built...
...unless the Creighton mascot position opens up.
Oh wait, he already is...
If you are ashamed of this city - then leave. I'm not ashamed of this city - very proud of where i live...
I saw Bruce last night and BLEW the doors off the Qwest Center. The NIT will be here Tuesday. The NCAA tourney will be Thursday and Friday. Spring game in April. CWS in June. Swim Trials and Dave Matthews in July....if you are don't like this city...get out.
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