Give greater Nebraska a shot at the State Fair

The University of Nebraska has big plans for the space now occupied by State Fair Park in Lincoln, and we can't blame them.

Situated between the city and east campuses of UNL, the land would be ideal for a proposed "Nebraska Innovation Park," covering about a million square feet of private and support services space and 623,000 square feet of public research space.

The university points to the success of a similar research facility, the Beadle Center, which officials say has won more than $100 million in research funding since it was built in 1995, a four-fold return on investment in 11 years and the equivalent of 3,000 jobs.

That includes three major research programs -- the Redox Biology Center, Nebraska Center for Virology and the Plant Science Initiative.

Promoters already have a new home picked out for the State Fair they hope to evict from the current park -- the Lincoln Mayor's Arena Task Force suggests the fair co-locate with the Lancaster Events Center and 84th and Havelock.

Building a new fairgrounds from scratch would cost $175 million plus land; moving to the Lancaster Events Center would cost $78.4 million and upgrading the current fairgrounds in Lincoln would cost about $31 million, officials said.

We tend to agree with the University that a research park might be a better use of valuable downtown Lincoln land. But while we're moving the fair, why not look outside Lincoln, where most of those who make their living in production agriculture live?

We can understand why eastern Nebraska powers might not consider somewhere as distant as McCook, but why not pick a more geographically central position like Grand Island or Kearney?

A group of Kearney officials are working on just that idea, forming a task force involving tourism, chamber of commerce, county and economic development officials.

The topic was discussed in the Legislature last spring, and the Agriculture Committee plans a public hearing on the issue Dec. 14, and the committee is accepting proposals from cities interested in the fair.

The selection process is skewed, unfortunately, calling for a minimum population of 300,000 within 30 miles of the location. That sounds suspiciously like the kind of manipulation that sent a new prison to Tecumseh instead of McCook, which would have won the facility if the selection had been based on original criteria.

This time should be different. Outstate locations should get a fair shot at becoming home to the Nebraska State Fair.