Community Meetings Scheduled for March 6, 8 and 10

(OMAHA, Neb. – March 3, 2008) – The new Web site containing graphics and information related to a proposed new 24,000-seat baseball stadium in downtown Omaha has been drawing heavy traffic since it went live on Feb. 27. The Web site, www.omahastadium.com, contains programming and pre-design reports, the CWS Oversight Committee’s presentation to the NCAA calling for a new downtown stadium, financial studies, a report on the economic impact of the Men’s College World Series on Omaha and other related information.

"Within the first 24 hours after the Web site went live, there were more than 45,700-page views," according to Kim Mickelsen, managing partner with Bozell, which is hosting the Web site. "We’ve received 253 e-mails to date with comments or questions, and the overwhelming majority (71 percent) support the new stadium. People are very excited about the future of this new stadium."

More than 70 percent of the traffic is coming from Omaha, although visits have also been recorded from more than 980 cities. The average visitor to the site views four pages and spends an average of four minutes at the site. In addition, more than 260 Web sites had linked to the site within the first 24 hours..

"The most popular sections of the Web site are the home page, site plans, stadium amenities, financial studies, frequently asked questions and key findings," Mickelsen added. "The initial amount of traffic created some technical issues, which were quickly corrected. It was certainly an indication that Omahans are eager to learn more about the new downtown stadium and its potential for securing a long-term agreement between Omaha and the NCAA as host city for the Men’s College World Series."

The Web site was created by the CWS Oversight Committee, which has also planned a series of public meetings to discuss details of the recommended downtown stadium. Those meetings are scheduled for March 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lauritzen Gardens in the Great Hall; March 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at Omaha North High School gymnasium; and March 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Westside High School Auditorium.

Among written comments received in e-mails to the Web site were:

"Wow, what an opportunity for Omaha." – James from Omaha.

"If you build it, they will come. I want to thank all the parties involved for looking at the downtown ballpark with a long-term mentality for the City of Omaha. Building a downtown Ballpark in Omaha is the right decision and the committee has done its homework. I support the new downtown Omaha ballpark." – Chris from Omaha.

"All I see on the news is people who are against the new stadium, which caught the NCAA’s attention. However, nearly everyone I know is in fact for the plan of building a new stadium. It would be nice if the news would report more on the overwhelming majority of people who are for the new stadium. Just letting you know what the silent majority is for the stadium." – Zach from Omaha.