The plan was more than dead on arrival. It was never alive in the beginning.

As outlined by Brashear and Mayor Chris Beutler, the proposal would have included $10 million from the city of Lincoln, $30 million from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a $40 million bond guaranteed by the NU Foundation and a $30 million revenue bond to be paid from proceeds of developing State Fair Park into a university research campus.

Trouble is, the major participants not only had not agreed to the plan, they took a dim view of it. ...

Meanwhile, various indicators point to the fair moving to Fonner Park in Grand Island. ...

If that's the case, the move will be against the advice of the consultant hired by the Agricultural Committee. The firm of HOK Smith Forkner recommended "a minimum population of 300,000 within 30 miles." Grand Island doesn't even come close.

The move also would be against the wishes of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association because it would leave horse racing without a track in Lincoln.

There are so many logical reasons that favor the 84th and Holdrege site over Grand Island that one can only conclude that a decision to move the fair to Grand Island would be based on nonrational considerations. ...

Throwing out hastily conceived, unrealistic alternatives for keeping the fair in Lincoln do little to improve the decision-making process. If Beutler and Brashear want "to get the State Fair board talking to parties in Lincoln," as the mayor put it, they need come up with something that has substance.

Lincoln Journal Star