For more than 50 years Omaha's been the home of the College World Series, and TD Ameritrade Park has held the event for the last five years.
Tuesday morning, reps with the College World Series of Omaha Inc. met with the Omaha City Council. They say the two week event brings in about $6 million a year in tax revenue, and continues to impress with returns.
"For the fans that come here and the teams that come here it's a special, special time. The road to Omaha,” said Gary Gates, the Vice Chairman of CWS of Omaha Inc. "Every projection that was made has been essentially almost doubled going into the future so we anticipate that to continue."
New to the series this year will be more fanfare including a team parade to the stadium, and a Ferris Wheel. Another big change inside will be beer sales to the general public. It is a pilot run for the NCAA.
"It's based on a fan survey and based on the research from other championship venues that they use, and it has proven to be workable there and a benefit. So they're responsive to the fans and that's good so we'll see how it works out,” Gates explained.
Currently the city is 5 years into a 26 year contract to keep the series in Omaha.
College World Series of Omaha Inc. is looking to the future. They want to increase efforts to save more in the Capitol Reserve Fund for stadium improvements including a new scoreboard. They currently have $2.2 million in the fund, but that won't cover the costs. CWS of Omaha Inc. plans to meet with the city, MECA, and the NCAA to figure out a solution.
“I think that they're going to do their best and make sure that there is a so called rainy day fund that when repairs are needed or major replacements are needed, they'll have a fund that they can go to," said Councilman Garry Gernandt.
The 2016 College World Series starts June 18th.
