Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — Picture this: a large, landscaped outdoor plaza, where visitors can sip a frosty mug of beer or a glass of crisp chardonnay while window-shopping, browsing through an art show or rocking out at a free concert.
Envision Kansas City's Power & Light District or Louisville's Fourth Street Live! area.
That's the same kind of area developers of an upscale outlet mall near Cabela's in La Vista and planners of Lincoln's new Haymarket Arena area want to create in Nebraska.
Both said that such "entertainment districts" will help persuade visitors to stay longer and spend more.
"When you're trying to attract regional meetings, conventions and tourists, they want more than quality meeting space and nice hotels," said Dennis Hoth, a local developer involved in the Outlets at Southport West project near Cabela's.
Hoth was among those testifying Monday in favor of a proposed Nebraska law that would allow cities to create "entertainment districts" in designated areas.
In such districts, bars and restaurants could obtain a second liquor license to allow patrons to walk outside with a drink and stroll in a commons area, which would host free concerts, outdoor "movie" nights, art shows or other events.
State Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln said he introduced Legislative Bill 1130 to give cities "another option to attract development, special events and tourists."
He and other supporters said such outdoor entertainment venues might help keep young people from moving away.
Dave Landis, a former state senator and now urban development director for Lincoln, said such a venue would help the Capital City realize its goal of $100 million in private development, along with the $170 million new arena for concerts and University of Nebraska sports.
"If we're going to roll the dice, we need to have a unique, vibrant experience for people . . . so they'll come early and stay late," Landis said.
Such an entertainment district would cater to visitors before and after nearby concerts and ballgames, but it would also host ice skating in the winter and movie nights and concerts in the summer, said Brett West of WRK Development.
In La Vista, the $114 million Southport West project would have at least 435,000 square feet of outlet mall shops, but also perhaps 100,000 square feet of entertainment district.
Hoth said the project developer, Cordish Cos., was involved in the Power & Light District as well as an entertainment district in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The La Vista entertainment district would be more "suburban," he said, because it wouldn't have a big arena or apartment complexes nearby, but it would be used year-round by using heaters and protection from the wind.
La Vista Mayor Doug Kindig told the Legislature's General Affairs Committee that he envisioned a "live events plaza" that would help make the area a destination.
Jack Cheloha, the lobbyist for the City of Omaha, also testified in favor of the bill. He said that while there are no solid plans for entertainment districts in Omaha, the city has several "natural locations" for them, including near the CenturyLink Center Omaha, the riverfront and Midtown Crossing.
Jack Diesing Jr. of the College World Series said he wasn't aware of the entertainment district proposal but wouldn't rule it out long-term for the TD Ameritrade Park area.
No one testified against the bill, but a couple of senators raised questions about minors obtaining alcohol in such a wide-open commons area.
Hoth said Kansas City has experienced few problems in its entertainment district and has instead seen the nearby population grow from 5,000 to 19,000.
Coash said his bill would require a bar's logo to be visible on any beverages they sell that go out the door, so any problem purchases could be traced. Cities, he said, could quickly cancel liquor licenses if there are multiple problems.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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