FarmAid expected to boost city’s economy
By Chris McCubbin
Staff Reporter
Lincoln business and government
officials are expecting FarmAid III to
be an economic boost to more than
distressed farmers.
Bert Harris, Lincoln’s economic
development administrator and brother
of Lincoln Mayor Bill Harris, said that
the city is planning a four-day festival
in connection with the FarmAid con
cert, centering on the Haymarket area,
which will include entertainers, crafts
and a farmers market.
Harris said the mayor’s office has
been in touch with other cities that
have hosted previous FarmAid concerts,
and reports are that ‘‘people don’t just
show up Saturday and leave Saturday
night,” for a FarmAid event, Harris
said.
FarmAid I, in Champaign Urbana,
Illinois, was “wild ... it was really
wild,” said Kim Pillischafske of the
Champaign-Urbana Convention and
Visitors Bureau.
She said about 100,000 people live in
Champaign-Urbana, and there are about
2,200 hotel rooms in the area (more
than 500 less than there are in the
Lincoln). To house the 76,000 concert
goers local families opened their homes
and cots were set up in the National
Guard Armory, she said.
Pillischafske said restaurants were
“super busy” during the concert week
end and local businesses profited from
the sale of FarmAid T-shirts and similar
merchandise.
Gene Thissen, general manager of
the Comhusker Hotel, said he expects
Lincoln to “fill up” like it does on
football Saturdays.
Thissen said that the Comhusker
hasn’t received any reservations for
FarmAid weekend yet, probably because
of the recent controversy over a possible
FarmAid pullout, he said. But on Sept.
19 he expects every hotel in Lincoln to
be full, he said.
While some organizations have al
ready done extensive planning, others
are just beginning to make FarmAid
plans.
Barb Hager, executive director of the
Downtown Lincoln Association, said
that her group will definitely sponsor
some FarmAid-related events, but that
no specific work has been done yet.
“It’s our job to keep (concertgoers)
here longer and help them er\joy them
selves," Hager said.
Jerry Diechert of the Bureau of
Business Research said the success of
an event like FarmAid cannot be pre
dieted as easily as that of a football
game, because for a football game the
number and, generally, the composition
of the audience is known in advance.
For instance, Diechert said, the fooiball
crowd tends to come to town early to
meet people, and since they come
earlier they spend more money. There
is no way to tell if the FarmAid crowd
will be behave similarly, he said.
Diechert said the central location of
Memorial Stadium will probably bring
people into downtown businesses
One question that needs to be asked
Diechert said, is whether the national
talent at FarmAid will discourage peo
ple from purchasing tickets to see
similar acts at the Nebraska State Fair.
When FarmAid threatened to pull
out of Lincoln due to financial difficult
ies Mayor Harris promised that the city
of Lincoln would take steps to raise the
needed funds.
Bert Harris said that no tax money
will be used for the event other than for
traffic control and other incidental
expenses expenses that go along with
an event of this size.
Harris said that inquiries are being
made about donations for the FarmAid
event. Harris said he expects a non
profit corporation to form soon to
solicit contributions. The city’s goal is
$25,000, Harris said.
Contract talks smooth, but tension remains
By Charles Lieurance
Entertainment Editor
Although UNL and FarmAid officials
have spent the past two weeks amicably
etching out a feasible contract for the
Sept. 19 benefit concert in Memorial
Stadium, hesitant phrases like "virtual
ly assured" and "almost positive” in
the media have kept some tension in
the air.
FarmAid attorney Joel Cherry warned
an eager state media last week that
negotiations are not over until pen is
put to paper.
According to the event coordinator
Tim O'Connor the meeting last Thurs
day between UNL officials and FarmAid
III negotiators over the proposed
contract went smoothly.
"There are the makings of a good
agreement. There are just a few points
such as capacity that need to be
worked out," O'Connor said.
Tom Krepel, the assistant to UNL
Chancellor Martin Massengale, said
most of the issues yet to be resolved in
the contract are technical in nature.
I I
As of Wednesday though problems
with liability insurance at the stadium
had slowed mailing of the FarmAid
contract to the FarmAid headquarters.
Many of the issues that proved a
problem some three weeks ago when it
looked as though the FarmAid III
benefit concert would not be held at
Memorial Stadium were worked out at
last Thursday’s meeting. One of the
problems, the absence of a large enough
backstage area, was resolved by agree
ing to use the large indoor practice
field in the field house under the North
Stadium as a backstage area
Krepel said that an actual signing of
the contract might be postponed until
after Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of
July picnic, when Nelson's staff has a
less hectic schedule.
Nebraskan
Editor Jtinnt Bournt
472 1766
Managing Editor Julit Jordan Htndrlcks
Sports Editor Chuck Grttn
Arts a Entertain
ment Editor Charles Llturinct
Photo Chief Andrn Hoy
Proofreader Scott Harrth
Copy Editors Jtinnt Bournt
Julit Jordan Htndrickt
General Manager Oinlal Shattll
Production Manager Katharim Policky
Advertising
Manager Lttlty Ltrton
Student Advertising
Manager Marcia Millar
Publications Board
Chairman Don Johnaon. 467-4716
Professional Adviser Don Walton. 473 7301
The Daily Nebraskan IUSPS 144 080) is
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Readers are encouraged to submit story
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ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT IM7 DAILY HEIRAGKAH
Editor’s Note:
In celebration of America’s 211th
birthday the staff of the Daily Nebra
skan decided to feature the “Legends
of Nebraska."
The most well known legend is, of
course, the Cornhusker football
team. Our feature stoiy (pages 6 and
7) includes a history of Nebraska’s
most watched team and photos of
some of the football greats in action.
The UNL campus is full of legends.
Many of the buildings were named
after famous professors. Samuel
Avery, a renowned chemist, for whom
Avery Hall was named solved the
mystery of the bleached wheat case,
which saved much of the state's
millers’ business.
Although the legend of the Daily
Nebraskan is probably debateable,
we have a story about its history and
coming to be.
The State Capitol building is
more than office space, it is con
sidered an architectural wonder.
To help people decide how to
celebrate the Fourth, we have in
cluded a story on the Holmes Lake
extravaganza. There will also be a
display of fireworks by the famous
Grucci family of New York in Omaha
Saturday after the Royals play the
Oklahoma City 89ers in Rosenblatt
Stadium.
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