Lincoln's planning and pursuit of a new convention center took another step — forward, lateral or otherwise — Tuesday with the announcement of a new committee.
Assemble Lincoln, a group made up of local, state and federal policymakers, business leaders and members of the Lincoln community, will soon begin meeting every two weeks.
"This is a project that has been years in the making," said Nebraska Sen. Eliot Bostar, Assemble Lincoln's chairman. "... It's been identified as a priority."
The group also includes Vice Chairman Kenneth Zoeller, the director of policy and research in Gov. Jim Pillen's office; State Sens. Beau Ballard and Anna Wishart, both of Lincoln; Sean Flowerday, Lancaster Country commissioner; Deb Schorr, a district director for U.S. Congressman Mike Flood; Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities; and Rich Herink, a community representative.
Forming another committee might look to some like another layer of bureaucratic foot-dragging — especially since a new convention center has been talked about and planned both formally and informally for several years — but everyone on hand Tuesday at the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce headquarters shared the need for more guidance and collaboration.
Bostar said Assemble Lincoln's first step will be to bring on board an experienced consultant. He also stressed the need to identify for taxing purposes the governance structure for the project — essentially who will run it: the city, county or a combination of the two?
"With those two things determined, we will then have a clear roadmap to get from where we are today to doors open," Bostar said. "There'll be a lot of communication as we go through that."
And it's not as if the project has been pushed back to square one, committee members say.
Bostar mentioned two studies on Tuesday that were done to determine the viability of a convention center, including one that identified five potential locations. Four of the five possible locations are downtown, including the main post office next to Pinnacle Bank Arena. The fifth is in the Telegraph District, just east of downtown.
The other study indicated Lincoln is "currently leaving a significant travel and tourism market untapped in our community," Bostar said.
"Right now, in terms of being competitive, the city of Lincoln needs to be more competitive in that arena," Rex said.Â
All of the data collected from the two studies will be used by Assemble Lincoln, Bostar said. The committee also seeks input from the public.
"We want to hear from you," said Wishart, speaking to the community. "We want to hear about your thoughts, your opinions, your ideas, your concerns, and we will have both online and in-person forums to support that engagement."
There is no time frame in selecting the ideal site, Bostar said.
Securing "a funding mechanism" is what "makes this project possible," she said.
The cost of the project has been estimated at between $111 million and $120 million.
Under terms of a "turnback" amendment in LB727, 70% of the state sales tax collected on meals, drinks and other retail purchases near the proposed new convention center would be allocated to the project.
The LB727 package also contains turnback tax benefits for expansion of convention space at CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha, tax breaks for expansion of the Nebraska Crossing shopping mall along Interstate 80 near Gretna and new bond financing authority for highway construction in Nebraska aimed at accelerating completion of the long-delayed expressway system.
"One of the reasons why the League of Nebraska Municipalities is so supportive of this project is because of the implications this has for cities and villages all across the state," Rex said.
In Lincoln, that could mean the Capital City might be able to land some of those conventions that chose other places in past years.
"There were conferences and conventions that had always been here that all of a sudden weren't coming," said Herink, a past member of both the Lincoln and Nebraska chamber boards. "There were opportunities that we went after that we didn't get."
He pointed to Pinnacle Bank Arena, which last week celebrated its 10th anniversary, as an example of how a building can transform a city.
"This is another opportunity," he said. "This will be something that changes the community, something that will make a great community even better."