Lancaster County moves forward with purchase of downtown convention center site

Lincoln, Neb. (KLKN) — Lancaster County has taken another major step toward bringing a convention center to downtown Lincoln after years of planning.

The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a purchase agreement for the block between 13th and 14th streets and L and M streets, directly east of the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.

County leaders say securing the site is a significant step toward the project and believe the location could help expand downtown, bringing additional businesses and visitors to the area.

Lancaster County Commissioner Matt Schulte said other locations, including the Haymarket, were considered before the site was selected.

“They determined that there just is not a real viable place in the Haymarket, and this is the best place for it,” Schulte said. “It’s near the Capitol. The whole downtown is going to expand out and to meet this, create some more restaurant opportunities and things like that in this area. I think it is a great location.”

Several businesses near the future convention center site told Channel 8 they are hopeful about what the project could mean for the area. While they declined to speak on camera, some said they believe it could bring more people to that side of downtown, generate additional business and encourage renovation and development nearby.

One business said it is always excited to see new business and welcome more people to Lincoln.

The site also has an unexpected connection to Lincoln’s past.

Lancaster County Commissioner Sean Flowerday said the current site-selection process began with more than 1,500 potential locations before officials narrowed the list to one. Only after making that selection did county leaders discover the same block had been considered for a convention center more than three decades earlier.

“While talking with the city historian, we found articles from, I think it was 1990, when the City Council then had done a study and chose the exact same block,” Flowerday said. “This block has been picked twice, generationally separate. We were totally unaware that that had even happened previously.”

More than three decades later, county leaders are moving forward with plans for a convention center on that same block.

There are still several steps ahead before the convention center becomes a reality, but county leaders say securing the location marks another major step forward for a project years in the making.