Lincoln Business Leaders Brainstorming On Husker Saturday Replacements
Lincoln, NE (August 12, 2020) The full effect of Tuesday’s no-Big-10 football announcement is only now beginning to sink in, and already work is underway to head off the potential damage. The loss of seven home football Saturdays could do further damage to the local Hospitality and Entertainment industry, according to Jeff Maul of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’ve already been devastated since Covid-19 began back in March and our hospitality industries, from hotels to restaurants and those that rely on visitor revenues have just been at bare minimum, staffing-wise, and the profitability, and all the things that go into the economics.”
Each of the seven home football Saturdays annually is estimated to pump around $6 Million dollars into Lincoln’s economy. Maul says alternatives are being sought to recover some of the lost business, and to save jobs. He and several other leaders of the Business community have been discussing ways to replace some or all of the expected loss of economic activity.
“As an industry, we’re going to continue to find ways to drive ways to bring people into our community, giving our citizens in Lincoln something to do, so we’re not done here at the Convention and Visitors Bureau. We keep working on new ideas.”
One example, he said, might simply require a shift in which sporting events to emphasize.
“We still have fall sports at the High School level, at the NSAA and the Lincoln Public Schools. We still have the potential to play fall sports, and now’s the time we have to get behind those individuals, support those athletes, and those students and families, and just find a way to bring sports back into our community because it is a lifeblood.
