The 12 days of Christmas only comes around one time a year, except
for Nebraskans. Every June in the heart Omaha, the state experiences something many say is better than
Christmas – The College World Series. College
baseball teams compete all spring long in hope that their
season will end in Omaha. The nation’s eight best teams get to play in the
double elimination tournament. In
support, over 200,000 fans from around the country travel to Omaha in demand of
seeing one of the greatest shows on dirt.
Similar to most events, it took sometime for the tournament
to develop into what it’s known as today.
The College World Series (CWS) started in 1947 and was hosted in
Kalamazoo, Michigan for two years. The CWS
then headed down to Wichita, Kansas for the 1949 competition. It didn’t take long for it to realize that
its home was meant to be in small-town Omaha.
Welcoming the tournament with open arms in the early 50’s, the city used
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as the new home for the CWS. Previously, Rosenblatt stadium was the home
of the Omaha Royals - a Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Omaha quickly adjusted their priorities and
moved the minor league team elsewhere, declaring Rosenblatt as the only home
for the college baseball tournament.
The College World Series’ move to Omaha had a positive
effect on the game as well as the city.
The tournament produced more than seven million dollars in revenue,
including small-business owners, hotels, and the lower-income neighborhoods
that surrounded the stadium. This time
of year was truly Christmas for this part of town. The stadium’s neighborhood residents utilized
the mass amount of people invading their territory very well. Men would sell their driveways as parking
spots while their wife and children sold water, soda, and beer to anyone that
passed by. These families easily made
fifteen thousand dollars by the time the tournament was over. Along with the profitable neighborhoods,
small businesses of t-shirt vendors and restaurants would pitch a tent as
close as they could and bring their merchandise and machines to sell their
goods to the fans. These companies would
make anything from ten thousand to one hundred thousand dollars in revenue. The authentic feel of the neighborhoods and
tents surrounding the stadium made the College World Series atmosphere
unforgettable.
The southeast Omaha event came to halt in 2010 when
Rosenblatt Stadium was destroyed. It was
a large controversy, but the NCAA was able to convince Omaha to build a new
field in exchange for a 25-year contract. The 2011 tournament was the beginning of a new
era. It was sad to see the 70-year
tradition end, but the change assured the nation that Omaha would be the home
to the CWS for many years to come.
**On Monday I'll put photos on Pinterest of the top 10 best shops within the downtown Old Market.
**Every Monday I'll use Twitter to tweet any deals and coupons Nebraska restaurants and events have.
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