The National Spotlight

Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta and Omaha.

This weekend, sports fans (and people who care more about winning their office bracket than about the actual game) will be tuning in to watch the NCAA College Basketball Tournament play out in these four cities.

And despite some shade allegedly thrown from Syracuse, people in the know aren’t surprised that Omaha was chosen for this elite honor to host this important stage of the tournament.

“Name another place where the arena is 3 miles from the airport, with ample parking for hometown fans and — for visitors — plenty of restaurants, bars and hotels within walking distance,” wrote Dirk Chatelain in a story this week in the Omaha World-Herald.

Ample parking for hometown fans. Cool stuff for visitors to walk to.

We think we could do even better.

What if we didn’t need as much parking, because we have a robust public transportation system? What if that parking was turned into more businesses, more restaurants, more housing, more cultural amenities? What if our visitors had a streetcar they could just hop on, so they could explore more of our great city?

Mr. Chatelain also wrote: “it’s an unprecedented stage for a city that is never going to host a Super Bowl, a Final Four or an Olympics.”

San Antonio is hosting the Final Four this year. Who knows, a streetcar could even spur the growth needed to be a catalyst for extradordinary things, like a stadium to host large-scale sporting events. Let’s dream big, Omaha!

Keep informed by signing up for our e-newsletter.