(Picture credit Lancaster County Board of Commissioners)
The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday morning to advance plans toward the construction of a convention center in Nebraska’s capital city, approving the purchase of Block 90 in Lincoln after four years of planning.
“This is a big deal,” said District 1 commissioner Sean Flowerday. “It’s not the whole battle won, but it’s a really exciting next step.”
The $8.9 million purchase of the Lincoln block between the Cornhusker Hotel and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services comes after three years of searching, vetting, and planning on the part of the Assemble Lincoln Committee.
“I’ve had the chance to travel with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce to a couple other capital cities over the last couple of years, specifically Boise and Madison,” said Matt Schulte of District 3. “Personally, I’ve been through Des Moines — all three of them have a publicly-funded convention center.”
Schulte observed how Idaho, Wisconsin, and Iowa’s convention centers in the shadow of their respective state capitols fostered civic engagement.
“I really like this, I’m very supportive of it,” he said, applauding Assemble Lincoln’s work.
Assemble Lincoln includes business, private, county, and state officials. The committee settled on block 90 in March of last year — prior to Assemble Lincoln, the project’s early stages consisted of a lengthy study and analysis from the large research LLC Conventions, Sports and Leisure International.
In anticipation of purchasing Block 90, the county had purchased a portion of Block 65 earlier this year for $4.2 million, intending for it to serve some use for the convention center.
According to the initial plan submitted to Tax Commissioner James Kamm, the convention center aims to open by 2028 and will dramatically expand Lincoln’s ability to host events, boasting a large events hall and ballroom in addition to outdoor and meeting space. They project it will create over 400 new full and part-time jobs during the construction phase and over 800 once the center opens.
The venue further promises to bolster redevelopment efforts in the immediate vicinity, including potential improvements to the Cornhusker Hotel and multiple other surrounding businesses and properties.
But next steps will likely hinge on the Nebraska Department of Revenue.
Under the Convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act, municipally owned convention centers are eligible to receive up to 70% of state sales tax revenue collected by the center, associated hotels, and retailers within 1800 feet. This “turnback tax” would allow Lancaster County to raise much-needed revenue for an expensive project like this one. Total project estimates range from $148 million to $175 million.
The County’s proposed method of payment relies on issuing bonds backed by turnback tax revenue in order to avoid imposing new taxes on Lancaster residents. To do so, however, they must first receive final approval from the CCFFAA Board, a panel of five led by Governor Pillen and featuring state Treasurer Joey Spellerberg. It has been nearly a year since Lancaster County had its initial hearing with the board.
Schulte remained optimistic that the CCFFAA board would rule favorably.
“We’re still waiting for the turnback tax to be signed… I expect that it will be signed still at some point – exactly when is to be determined” he said.
The Plains Sentinel has reached out to the offices of Pillen and Spellerberg for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.
However, even were the ordeal to break unfavorably for Lancaster, Schulte made clear it would be no great loss for the county.
“Worst case scenario, if the turn back tax application is not signed by the governor, we own an entire block of prime real estate in downtown Lincoln.”
— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.