City Council Testimony of Stacy Brass,

Vice Chair of the Lincoln Young Professionals Group (YPG)

in support of the arena project.

First, I’d like to thank the Council for allowing us to be here today and for the support you’ve shown the YPG over the past three years.

In those three short years we've grown from an idea to an organization with nearly 900 paid members. Our vision is that “Lincoln will be an attractive place in which young professionals take ownership in its future by engaging in the community professionally, personally and philanthropically.”

It's a vision our membership believes in. Last year when we surveyed our membership to find out what programming and issues they wanted us to focus on as an organization in 2010, over 80% of those surveyed wanted the Lincoln Haymarket Arena to be our number one priority.

We believe that a new arena and a significant, energetic development surrounding it are imperative to the retention and attraction of professionals to Lincoln. We know that a new arena will help lead to new jobs and economic development. The Lincoln YPG whole-heartedly stands behind the Lincoln Haymarket Arena and associated development. We believe it is an investment that is necessary to help us fulfill our vision and to allow Lincoln to continue to be vibrant and competitive.

We also stand ready to put our money and our time where our mouth is.

Over the past year, the YPG has held several educational events about the arena project so our membership is fully informed and educated.

We are prepared to spend the next three months actively engaged in promoting the passage of the arena. We will hold more events, raise money, and formalize a business liaisons program. This program will consist of young professionals organizing meetings within businesses and giving presentations about the Lincoln Haymarket Arena throughout the community to ensure that everyone is educated on this issue.

We believe this project will not only send a message about Lincoln’s pro-growth attitude, but also a message to Lincolnites and young professionals in the Midwest; that Lincoln is on the move and it truly is an excellent place to live, work and play. Young adults in this town are excited to begin buying tickets to concerts, Husker Women and Men’s basketball, and all of the other events that we stand to attract with a state-of-the-art arena.

We have reviewed the financing plan, the location, and the proposed development that will fill the Haymarket with energy and excitement. We are extremely confident that this is the time, the West Haymarket is the place, and these are the right financing tools to make this project successful for decades to come.

The Lincoln Young Professional Group encourages the council to support these resolutions and move this process forward.

I'd like to take a moment and speak for myself. As a young professional and also a mother of three children, I believe that this project is essential to the future of Lincoln. I want the Lincoln of ten years from now to be a place where my kids are excited to be from and enthusiastic to build their own adult lives in. I feel this project will be an important step in helping to realize this goal.

Thanks again for your time and I will try and answer any questions that the council may have.