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I hope so...I am so sick and tired of hearing about other arena getting all the "big" concerts lately.Brad wrote:
I did talk with someone from MECA the other day who did say there were concert announcements coming soon.
Since I have talked to them, Bette Midler and Garth Brooks have both been announced.iamjacobm wrote:On cue a big two night act is announced.
When it opened in 2003, it was the only arena of its size in a 350-mile radius. It quickly became a regional concert goliath, attracting many of the biggest tours.
According to industry-tracker Pollstar, the nearly 340,000 concert tickets the Omaha arena sold in 2004 ranked it 17th in the world. Yes, the world.
But along came Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena (2005), Kansas City’s Sprint Center (2007) and Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena (2013), all cutting into that business.
By 2013, CenturyLink’s concert ticket sales had dropped by more than half, though they’ve rebounded some since. Reduced takes from concerts are no doubt a big reason that the quasi-governmental agency that oversees CenturyLink has seen its annual profits drop from a peak of more than $5 million in 2008 to $519,000 in 2014.
CenturyLink continues to hold its own on concerts. Pollstar in 2014 ranked it No. 73 in the world, behind Sprint Center (32nd) but ahead of Pinnacle Bank (111th) and Wells Fargo (115th). Now 2015 is shaping up as another big year, particularly boosted by six shows by country superstar Garth Brooks that most arenas would have killed for.
“Promoters know Omaha is a market that produces,’’ Dixon said.
Even with a new arena opening just six miles away, Dixon acknowledges that CenturyLink’s biggest competitor will continue to be Pinnacle Bank, a similar-size arena that most concert promoters consider to be in the same market as CenturyLink.
During its first year, 2013, Pinnacle Bank attracted more of North America’s top 25 concert tours than CenturyLink did, though that reversed in 2014.
Among the items under consideration:
» Temporary bungalows that fans could rent out for the games. These would have flat-screen TVs, bathrooms and air conditioning, along with an awning off to the side.
» A family-friendly area in a grassy spot north of the CenturyLink Center, offering a Ferris wheel, food trucks and other activities.
» A zipline along 10th Street, starting around Mike Fahey Street and running in front of the convention center and arena.
I don't think more corporate sponsored activities or prefabricated tailgating sheds are what's going to bring that missing quality that Rosenblatt had. Actually, I'm pretty sure that will even further the divide of the two venues.Greg S wrote:They need to do something. They still don't have the cool vibe the event had at Rosenblatt. This might help.
Here's another article. I noticed MECA is identifying the north lot for one of the garages. They threw a fit when the city suggested that for TD park. At the time it was because they planned expand the convention center into that lot. Now that they are suggesting a parking garage, I assume that means they no longer plan on eventually expanding it.
http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/meca-om ... 9682f.html
Greg
CenturyLink Center hosted 16 concerts in 2015, and Pinnacle Bank Arena hosted 12. Both venues are among the top 200 worldwide.
That’s more than 25 huge arena concerts within an hour’s drive, and among the 22 tours that played at either arena, 18 of them were among the top 100 tours in North America
Brooks’ six shows at the CenturyLink Center left a big mark on the area.
His 101,863 tickets sold were 45 percent of the arena’s overall concert sales for 2015.
Brooks’ six-night stand in May was the No. 36 highest grossing concert in the world last year, and it pulled in more than $6.7 million in ticket sales. It was the second highest gross of Brooks’ entire 2015 tour. (Arena officials are very happy. No surprise there.)
When hockey left, they were saying that should help to lure a few more events/concerts there with those Friday/Saturday night time slots now available. As a Creighton fan, I like hockey not being there. Before, many of the Creighton Saturday games were forced to the 1 pm slot so they could tear down and set up for that night's hockey game.Greg S wrote:Going to be an interesting year for Century Link Center. Garth as noted in the article was a big chunk of the concert ticket sales. Plus this will be the first full year with no UNO hockey there.
Greg
Is the sweet 16 this year too?iamjacobm wrote:There is a massive swimming event.
Yeah UNO being gone will be good for Creighton. Those days though were they had both were so good for the businesses down there though. The swim meet will help this year.skinzfan23 wrote:When hockey left, they were saying that should help to lure a few more events/concerts there with those Friday/Saturday night time slots now available. As a Creighton fan, I like hockey not being there. Before, many of the Creighton Saturday games were forced to the 1 pm slot so they could tear down and set up for that night's hockey game.Greg S wrote:Going to be an interesting year for Century Link Center. Garth as noted in the article was a big chunk of the concert ticket sales. Plus this will be the first full year with no UNO hockey there.
Greg
This month is decent for the CLink:
5 Creighton games
Black Sabbath
Jason Aldean
Next month:
4 Creighton games
3 days of state high school wrestling
But overall I agree, they are going to have to work to fill the time slots this year without Garth.
That's 2018 I think.Brad wrote:Is the sweet 16 this year too?iamjacobm wrote:There is a massive swimming event.
I'd love to have AHL hockey back in Omaha.MadMartin8 wrote:Still think they need a second shot at an AHL team and put it in the CLink. Just curtain off the top bowl. If nothing else, people will fill it up to be "seen".
Or, Creighton Basketball needs to finally schedule and play UNO Hockey. That will solve most problems.
The profit figure for the fiscal year that ended in June 2015 represents a $120,000 decrease from the $3.27 million that MECA made in 2014. But the 2014 figure included $1.2 million from the City of Omaha, which purchased a parking lot from the organization.
There were 356 events at the convention center and arena in 2015, the lowest in the past five years. But the convention center set records for attendance, and the arena had more than 180,000 people show up for concerts — the second-highest figure since 2010.
The CenturyLink Center, then, generated the brunt of the organization’s profits.
The group had $28.3 million in total revenue.
In my world for commercial / Industrial we planned for 20 years and depreciated at 15 years.Brad wrote:I know the CLCO is 12 years old now, but how long does a commercial grade heating system last?
Are they still losing money on TD Ameritrade?skinzfan23 wrote:MECA reports a ‘solid’ profit of $3.1 million for fiscal year 2015
The profit figure for the fiscal year that ended in June 2015 represents a $120,000 decrease from the $3.27 million that MECA made in 2014. But the 2014 figure included $1.2 million from the City of Omaha, which purchased a parking lot from the organization.
There were 356 events at the convention center and arena in 2015, the lowest in the past five years. But the convention center set records for attendance, and the arena had more than 180,000 people show up for concerts — the second-highest figure since 2010.
The CenturyLink Center, then, generated the brunt of the organization’s profits.
The group had $28.3 million in total revenue.
The baseball stadium reflected a net loss of $167,000 last year. MECA was responsible for $100,000 of that loss. The rest was covered by the city.
Well I guess if they start planning now, it will be 15 before they know it.nebugeater wrote:In my world for commercial / Industrial we planned for 20 years and depreciated at 15 years.Brad wrote:I know the CLCO is 12 years old now, but how long does a commercial grade heating system last?
Fascinating.skinzfan23 wrote:From the article:The baseball stadium reflected a net loss of $167,000 last year. MECA was responsible for $100,000 of that loss. The rest was covered by the city.
When they start selling beer in 2016 and people actually stay for 7 innings and not 3 or 4 before heading to the beer tent, they may end up doing better on concessions as a whole. Say on 20% of the crowd drinks (.20 X 24,000 = 4800) take that times $7 a beer, that is $33,600 per game. Whats the markup on beer? Even if the beer cost them $3 a cup, that's still $4 proft times 4800 people = $19,200 per game? Times what 15 games? Conservative estimate, that's $288,000 profit on beer.omaha79 wrote:And, barring MECA landing a significant tenant, the losses on the ballpark may only go up as the facility ages and becomes more costly to operate.
That's a very good point. I wonder how much, if any, the ballpark under-performing the rose colored glasses revenue projections of being profitable with no other events besides the CWS could have played into the decision making process to try out selling beer at the games?Brad wrote:When they start selling beer in 2016 and people actually stay for 7 innings and not 3 or 4 before heading to the beer tent, they may end up doing better on concessions as a whole. Say on 20% of the crowd drinks (.20 X 24,000 = 4800) take that times $7 a beer, that is $33,600 per game. Whats the markup on beer? Even if the beer cost them $3 a cup, that's still $4 proft times 4800 people = $19,200 per game? Times what 15 games? Conservative estimate, that's $288,000 profit on beer.omaha79 wrote:And, barring MECA landing a significant tenant, the losses on the ballpark may only go up as the facility ages and becomes more costly to operate.
This past weekend’s crowd was unbelievable. Saturday’s attendance was 11,440. They pushed over 45,000 through the doors for the three days combined, a 10-year high.
Greg S wrote:Going forward is this staying in Omaha? I can't remember if we have had to bid against Lincoln and PBA yet.
Greg
At its monthly meeting Thursday, the board voted 7-1 to keep the tournament at CenturyLink Center Omaha for the next five years, despite a bid from Lincoln's new Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Larger staging areas for warm-ups and weigh-ins at CenturyLink Center were a major factor in keeping the tournament in Omaha, where it has been since 2007. Prior to that, state wrestling was held at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.
CenturyLink Center's seating capacity also played a role in the decision. With 10 mats on the floor, it can seat 14,793, compared with 11,500 at Lincoln's new arena. With four mats on championship Saturday, CenturyLink Center's capacity is 15,603, compared with 14,300 in Lincoln.
There is a giant removable wall under the bud bar area that opens to the convention center that seems to be a huge draw for a lot of arena events. I have seen everything from a Team Bus to a basketball court set up in the convention center. I can only assume they put warm-up wrestling mats over there too.Larger staging areas for warm-ups and weigh-ins at CenturyLink Center were a major factor in keeping the tournament in Omaha, where it has been since 2007. Prior to that, state wrestling was held at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.
The name on the building makes me know exactly why they still don't have free Wi-Fi.Greg S wrote:Nice to see they are keeping CenturyLink up to date:
http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/meca-sa ... e4106.html
I know they are talking about it but I think it's crazy they still don't have free Wi-Fi available there. Especially considering who's name is on the building......
Greg