Backers of a plan to move a wrestling museum to downtown Waterloo made their pitch to the people who could make it happen. The museum would bear Waterloo native and wrestling icon Dan Gable’s name. But it all depends on private donations.
Currently, the International Wrestling Institute and Museum is in Newton where it sees thousands of visitors a year. But the museum’s founder thinks it should move to Waterloo because of the city’s wrestling history and that it’s the hometown of the sport’s biggest name, Dan Gable.
The crowd at Waterloo’s Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center heard a pitch to bring a wrestling museum to the city. They heard from Dan Gable. The gold medal winner, former Iowa coach, and Waterloo native would attach his name to the museum. “It’s not about me. It’s about excellence. It’s about somebody, something people can look up to and really get a lot of boost from and go on and do something great in their life, “Gable says.
Under the plan, the city would lease a building on Jefferson Street to the museum. It would then be part of a proposed sports and entertainment district downtown. That would be the city’s only involvement.
Mayor Tim Hurley says, “It’s not a scam. It’s not a little boys club. It’s something that really belongs here. It fits into our master plan. It fits into the sports and entertainment zone. It’s already started discussion amongst other groups inside and outside that would leverage off this.”
Mike Chapman is the museum’s executive director and says, “The proximity to Young Arena and the Convention Center is wonderful for us. I can’t promise how many events we’ll bring in but I’ll tell the community this…we survive and thrive on tourism. It’s the number of people we bring into the museum that determines our success.”
For Gable, it would mean a return to Waterloo and the place where it all started. Organizers say they would need about $750,000 in donations to be able to come to Waterloo. They say other communities like Des Moines and Iowa City have shown interest, but they say no place is a better fit than Waterloo.
Organizers say they’ll have a better handle on whether they’ll be able to move there by the end of the month. They say the move would take about six months. If they come to Waterloo, they would want to be up and running by April
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