May 1, 2008

One of the most important--but least reported--stories of this college baseball season has been the fight to keep the College World Series in Omaha. After months of wrangling over a new stadium, the NCAA reached an agreement to keep the CWS in Omaha through 2030.

As part of the new deal, the CWS will be held at a new ballpark in north downtown beginning in 2011 instead of Rosenblatt Stadium. The longest previous NCAA contracts for a championship event were the five-year deals granted to Omaha and Oklahoma City for the baseball finals and softball finals, respectively.

The exact length of the contract is still being negotiated, but it could be as long as 25 years. Final approval is expected before the June 14 first pitch of this year's CWS.

Naturally, once the stadium deal is completed, the next most pressing question will be one near and dear to the hearts of the UNC traveling party: what will happen to Zesto's near Rosenblatt? Business owners are already pondering that question. The good news, however, is that the Drover doesn't plan to relocate their famous whiskey filets.