- CWS fans are spending off days exploring Omaha neighborhoods beyond Baseball Village
- In Central Omaha, visitors explored Benson and Dundee
- Businesses there are welcoming out-of-town visitors during the tournament
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – Wille Hayson and Jason Bell had Omaha on their minds for months. The two friends made the trip for the College World Series, even though neither of their teams made the finals.
"We agreed we'd come here for the College World Series and neither one of our teams are in the finals, but here we are," Bell said.
On Thursday night, the two ended up not in Downtown Omaha, but in the Benson neighborhood, watching a World Cup match at St. Andrews Pub at 61st and Maple.
There are no CWS games on Thursday and Friday. Oklahoma and UNC will play Saturday, Sunday and possibly on Monday.
"So we stay here so we can watch the World Cup games and then we'll take a ride downtown Saturday and Sunday," Bell said.
St. Andrews Pub vartender Matt Payne said he has seen CWS fans in Benson all week.
Visitors are also making their way to the Dundee neighborhood, where floral displays outside about a dozen businesses are part of the Dundee in Bloom initiative, which encourages shopping at local stores.
One of those stores is Dundee Candle, where Jensen Sullivan is the manager.
"It means a lot that people can come to this neighborhood, check us out, check out all the other businesses in Dundee," Sullivan said.
Hayson and Bell said they are looking forward to exploring more of Omaha before the weekend.
"You got a great city," Hayson said.
"I think they already know. They have this down pat," Bell said.
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