Bellevue Been Bery, Bery Bad To Beisbol

Or, Still More Local Governmental Greed, Ineptitude, And Folly Offered For Your Consideration And Edification

As anyone reading this [IS anyone reading this?-Ed.] probably knows, Omaha hosts one of the most fun NCAA tournaments every year, to wit: The College World Series. As part of the annual festivities, the participating teams use area high school baseball fields for practice. It's a win-win: it's fun for the players to get to know the community to which they've come, the fans get to watch some of the best college baseball there is (even if they can't make it to the actual games), and the kids get to collect autographs and otherwise dream big dreams.

For the past twenty or so years, Bellevue Public Schools has offered its facilities. In return, CWS, Inc., which runs the College World Series for the NCAA, has made donations of varying amounts (from $0 one year to $10,000 in another) to BPS as an offset for the additional wear and tear on the local facilities that their extra use entails.

This year, however, some idiot in BPS decided to REQUIRE a $10,000 fee per location from CWS, Inc., for the teams to use Bellevue's facilities. CWS, Inc., quite rightly, said, "Hasta la vista, Baby." The College World Series teams this year will practice way out west, in Millard.

So Bellevue has lost another thing that made living here special. Real bright, BPS! (Just what is it about holding a position in government that makes some people lose the few brain cells they had to begin with, anyway?)

In a lame attempt to limit the damage, Superintendent of BPS John Deegan has proposed a 10-year contract between the city, BPS, and CWS, Inc. The city will pick up the $10,000 per field cost of providing the facilities. CWS, Inc., will resume using Bellevue facilities for the annual two-week event. And if CWS, Inc., awards any grants for use of the facilities, that money will go to BPS.

This is not going to work, nor even help.

For one thing, CWS, Inc., will never agree to a 10-year term. The NCAA extends Omaha's contract for the College World Series itself on a 3-to-5-year term, max. And that's even though Omaha has hosted the thing since its inception back in the 1940s. (I mean, come on; the theme song for the tournament is "Back Home In Omaha.") Furthermore, Bellevue Mayor Jerry Ryan isn't really keen on the idea. He correctly thinks that BPS should just pick up the added expense of letting the CWS teams practice in Bellevue because of the inherent value to the community in doing so.

All I can say is that BPS stupidy and greedily tried a bit of legal extortion, got called on it, and now we've probably lost CWS, Inc.'s goodwill forever. Not to mention the loss of the delight of participating in a unique aspect of the College World Series. Not to mention the added inconvenience to the tournament players--most of them stay in downtown Omaha hotels due to their proximity to Rosenblatt Stadium, the tournament site. Practicing in Bellevue was much closer than will be practicing out in Millard. Given the weather we've had lately, if I were a CWS player, I'd not want to have to spend an extra 40 minutes or more per day on a non-air-conditioned bus going out to practice if I didn't have to do so.

I hope everyone else in Bellevue is as disgusted as I am by this entire mess. Judging from the editorial column in this week's Bellevue Leader, and judging from the published letters to the editor of both the Leader and the Omaha World-Herald, I think they are. I don't know that that will do any good for Bellevue's chances of again getting to provide the CWS practice locations, but at least it means people are paying attention to their local government's follies.