Rumors - Soccer Stadium - Large Office - Parking Garage

[Garrett]

Reddit had a ball with the rumor, but there seemed to be a lot of support for a UO Stadium downtown.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments ... ion_omaha/

What I love: There are people who at least say they would go much more often, and even ride their bike to a new stadium down town.

This makes me very hopeful for Omaha, and the stadium.

There is definitely a bigger soccer fan population on the east side of town. Just look at Benson during Premier league games.

And trying to draw from Latino families in South O as well will be much easier here than in Sarpy.

[Athomsfere]

Reddit had a ball with the rumor, but there seemed to be a lot of support for a UO Stadium downtown.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments ... ion_omaha/

What I love: There are people who at least say they would go much more often, and even ride their bike to a new stadium down town.

This makes me very hopeful for Omaha, and the stadium.

There is definitely a bigger soccer fan population on the east side of town. Just look at Benson during Premier league games.

I wonder why, exactly... Is it because we are more of the transplants / international minded folks? Or "younger", or a fluke of sports things? Either way, football is so much fun to watch. American football, I played it in school briefly but it is the most boring sport to watch...

[PotatoeEatsFish]

Reddit had a ball with the rumor, but there seemed to be a lot of support for a UO Stadium downtown.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments ... ion_omaha/

What I love: There are people who at least say they would go much more often, and even ride their bike to a new stadium down town.

This makes me very hopeful for Omaha, and the stadium.

There is definitely a bigger soccer fan population on the east side of town. Just look at Benson during Premier league games.

I wonder why, exactly... Is it because we are more of the transplants / international minded folks? Or "younger", or a fluke of sports things? Either way, football is so much fun to watch. American football, I played it in school briefly but it is the most boring sport to watch...

Because all of Nebraska outside eastern Omaha and parts of Lincoln is made up of the most bland middle aged people in the country. The eastern part of Omaha actually recognizes there's other sports besides our piece of |expletive| football team.

[daveoma]

Reddit had a ball with the rumor, but there seemed to be a lot of support for a UO Stadium downtown.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments ... ion_omaha/

What I love: There are people who at least say they would go much more often, and even ride their bike to a new stadium down town.

This makes me very hopeful for Omaha, and the stadium.

There is definitely a bigger soccer fan population on the east side of town. Just look at Benson during Premier league games.

I wonder why, exactly... Is it because we are more of the transplants / international minded folks? Or "younger", or a fluke of sports things? Either way, football is so much fun to watch. American football, I played it in school briefly but it is the most boring sport to watch...

Because all of Nebraska outside eastern Omaha and parts of Lincoln is made up of the most bland middle aged people in the country. The eastern part of Omaha actually recognizes there's other sports besides our piece of |expletive| football team.

In my view, Omaha east of 680 feels much more like a diverse big city compared to anywhere else in the city or state. I love your bluntness however

[Athomsfere]

In my view, Omaha east of 680 feels much more like a diverse big city compared to anywhere else in the city or state of. I love your bluntness however

LOL!

This I agree with, which is why I never let anyone confuse the fact that I am from Omaha, with being from Nebraska.

[Louie]

In my view, Omaha east of 680 feels much more like a diverse big city compared to anywhere else in the city or state of. I love your bluntness however

LOL!

This I agree with, which is why I never let anyone confuse the fact that I am from Omaha, with being from Nebraska.

I've been flying the 'new' Omaha flag on our house for this specific reason ha: https://www.omahaflag.com/

[Padre]

Well that moved fast from "We might get a new soccer stadium!" to "Half the city sucks!"

[daveoma]

In my view, Omaha east of 680 feels much more like a diverse big city compared to anywhere else in the city or state of. I love your bluntness however

LOL!

This I agree with, which is why I never let anyone confuse the fact that I am from Omaha, with being from Nebraska.

I've been flying the 'new' Omaha flag on our house for this specific reason ha: https://www.omahaflag.com/

This is awesome!

[PotatoeEatsFish]

Well that moved fast from "We might get a new soccer stadium!" to "Half the city sucks!"

It's okay the only half that sucks is West Omaha which is not Omaha

[OmahaOmaha]

My question is… If this is nothing but rumors and nothing has been confirmed, why not post this in rumor section instead?

[TransitOriented]

My question is… If this is nothing but rumors and nothing has been confirmed, why not post this in rumor section instead?

By a moderator no less


I wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on the stadium though.

[ita]

My question is… If this is nothing but rumors and nothing has been confirmed, why not post this in rumor section instead?

By a moderator no less


I wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on the stadium though.

The other two possible projects are not really rumors. The developer behind Millwork Commons has already talked about both the office and parking garage and has said they are working on them. The stadium is still a rumor, but the others are happening.

[Brad]

Yeah, I should probable move it to the Rumors...

That said, Lanoaha, Library Lot, etc. should all be in the Rumors section...

[nebport5]

Yeah, I should probable move it to the Rumors...

That said, Lanoaha, Library Lot, etc. should all be in the Rumors section...

On the other hand, your initial post was tweeted verbatim on Union Omaha's Twitter.

[omahahawk]

I am not even a soccer fan but one thing I can tell you is that I would be much more inclined to go to games in the Millworks location. Don't even live east of 72nd anymore but DT and Midtown are still where I prefer to spend the majority of my free time. Seeing the team play in this type of location in a stadium that is designed for the game is still much more appealing then driving halfway to Lincoln to watch them play in a stadium designed for baseball surrounded by little else. Really hope it comes to fruition. This along with a potential 2000 new employees in the area and it seems like north downtown could finally become the idea that was hatched 15 years ago. There is a reason soccer is the world's most popular sport. Probably because you need little in the way of equipment other than a ball and some space to play. For that reason alone and all the others mentioned previously imho I do believe it would attract at least as many people and probably more down in Millworks, probably even on a more consistent basis. If the team moves up in Tiers because of this along with a solid marketing campaign it could be great for Omaha PR.

[strangerthings]

Just be cognizant that all of these rumors maybe for the same project. Similar has happened in other city's urban forums where a few sites become really active with intel as a business evaluates where they want to go.

[CapitalGuy]

I have also wondered if there could be any overlap in these rumors. How many employers in Omaha have 2k employees and are looking to relocate? Unless this is going to have room for 2k employees in a multi-tenant configuration.

[omahahawk]

As a side note, Millworks would be a natural location for any team that calls itself "Union Omaha" considering the area's early 20th century past. Increased marketing efforts at the airport would be a good thing for travelers coming in, especially when they would be driving right past their stadium 5 minutes after leaving the airport. Great way to get people staying for business and conventions. "Hey, after the meeting today wanna grab a really good beer and see some guys who know how to play real soccer"? Just a few minutes walk from your hotel.

[Omaha Cowboy]

As a side note, Millworks would be a natural location for any team that calls itself "Union Omaha" considering the area's early 20th century past. Increased marketing efforts at the airport would be a good thing for travelers coming in, especially when they would be driving right past their stadium 5 minutes after leaving the airport. Great way to get people staying for business and conventions. "Hey, after the meeting today wanna grab a really good beer and see some guys who know how to play real soccer"? Just a few minutes walk from your hotel.

I like what you’re saying here..It all makes connective sense..

100% agree…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[omahahawk]

Thanks. What would also be really cool would be to cross promote deals and specials with Creighton at each other's games.

[Linkin5]

Hopefully the new stadium would be somewhat in scale with what is currently proposed in Des Moines.

[Athomsfere]

Hopefully the new stadium would be somewhat in scale with what is currently proposed in Des Moines.

Is that proposal also for about 6000 people? It looks a little small, but it looks nice.

[Linkin5]

Yes that is the same one. I’d say 6000 would be pretty good as long as it is situated to plan for expansion.

[omaha79]

Just a few thoughts on Union Omaha.

-I keep seeing people pointing to Union drawing an average of 3,500 with a high of 5,100. Keep in mind, all of that is Covid attendance. Everyone from Nebraska football, MLB baseball, Storm Chasers, etc. is down. There are people that are just not comfortable going to live events yet. So, I wouldn't take the 3,500 as indicative of the full potential for attendance.

-I've heard rumors of this downtown location for a while now. I've also heard rumors of Gretna as it's "closer to the youth soccer playing community". There are those that see this as the family market for those attending games. I've heard rumors that there is some hesitancy to move downtown as you'd lose families. I'd consider that shortsighted as you start treating that like MILB baseball. They are not the same animals. The family element that's needed for MILB is not necessarily who you are trying to attract for pro soccer.

-The size will be key. I believe the requirement for USL Championship is roughly 8-10k (C Springs is at 8k). I'm fine with them building that, but understand that if you do, it will probably never be a MLS facility. I haven't seen too many sub 18k MLS facilities approved in the last few years. I can't see an 18k stadium getting built. So, you'd either need to be content being USL Championship or knowing you're going to have to build a MLS stadium if you ever realistically get to that level. Omaha has a LONG way to go though before anything like that ever enters the conversation.

-I do think that there are those though that will jump in if Omaha moves to USL Championship. League One is solid competition, but it's certainly a step down and we need to compete with other similarly sized cities.

-I'm also interested in what happens with the MLS Next Pro league. That could be a game changer.

[Greg S]

They talked about this on GrowOmaha. They speculated that multiple sites being looked at and this is years away. They also mentioned the need for other tenants or uses for this since Union Omaha would only have about 16 dates.

It will be interesting to see how these soccer leagues pan out. The MLS Pro League could really shake things up.


Greg

[MadMartin8]

It might be cool, if they can afford to do so or raise the money to do so, to make more of a complex out of it with a youth soccer component. Not sure if that's in the cards though, but it could be a good secondary use to fill up time.

[Athomsfere]

They talked about this on GrowOmaha. They speculated that multiple sites being looked at and this is years away. They also mentioned the need for other tenants or uses for this since Union Omaha would only have about 16 dates.

It will be interesting to see how these soccer leagues pan out. The MLS Pro League could really shake things up.


Greg

College World Cup!

[Big E]

I've also heard rumors of Gretna as it's "closer to the youth soccer playing community". There are those that see this as the family market for those attending games. I've heard rumors that there is some hesitancy to move downtown as you'd lose families. I'd consider that shortsighted as you start treating that like MILB baseball. They are not the same animals. The family element that's needed for MILB is not necessarily who you are trying to attract for pro soccer.

Yeah, there's no soccer players in South Omaha with families...

[PotatoeEatsFish]

I've also heard rumors of Gretna as it's "closer to the youth soccer playing community". There are those that see this as the family market for those attending games. I've heard rumors that there is some hesitancy to move downtown as you'd lose families. I'd consider that shortsighted as you start treating that like MILB baseball. They are not the same animals. The family element that's needed for MILB is not necessarily who you are trying to attract for pro soccer.

Yeah, there's no soccer players in South Omaha with families...

Yeah let's focus on populations who actually care about it and not just the soccer moms who have their 10 year olds play it for 3 years. It's so shocking to a lot of these people that not every family lives in massive homes in West O.

[Globochem]

Not saying they should build in Gretna, but this thread is devolving into the insane. Youth select teams are packed full of west O players. Who also attend every imaginable skills camp, pay tournament, and private coaching. They also are developing just as meaningful a fan base as any other part of town. This city has a shocking dearth of groomed fields with any sort of amenity, and it probably makes more sense to locate them out west. But for an aspiring minor league professional team to make it, their stadium he better draw from more than the raccoons and hypodermic needles that surround it now.

[omaha79]

I've also heard rumors of Gretna as it's "closer to the youth soccer playing community". There are those that see this as the family market for those attending games. I've heard rumors that there is some hesitancy to move downtown as you'd lose families. I'd consider that shortsighted as you start treating that like MILB baseball. They are not the same animals. The family element that's needed for MILB is not necessarily who you are trying to attract for pro soccer.

Yeah, there's no soccer players in South Omaha with families...

I get the innuendo here, but are those the families that are going to invest in 5 season tickets to Union Omaha? Maybe some, but I'm guessing there probably is a larger concentration of those kinds of families in Papillion and Gretna. What I was told is that they want to be closer to the club systems they are partnering with. The majority of those teams and coaches are out West.

I'm with you. I'd rather have a downtown facility for this as I believe there are more people that are more likely to watch live soccer living East than West, but if you're going to chase families that are likely to buy season tickets, that is West. I think there are those within the organization that believe that map they used of where Storm Chasers fans reside (out West) largely overlaps with their target demographic for Union. And, that the true soccer crazies will just follow wherever the team is.

[omaha79]

I've also heard rumors of Gretna as it's "closer to the youth soccer playing community". There are those that see this as the family market for those attending games. I've heard rumors that there is some hesitancy to move downtown as you'd lose families. I'd consider that shortsighted as you start treating that like MILB baseball. They are not the same animals. The family element that's needed for MILB is not necessarily who you are trying to attract for pro soccer.

Yeah, there's no soccer players in South Omaha with families...

Yeah let's focus on populations who actually care about it and not just the soccer moms who have their 10 year olds play it for 3 years. It's so shocking to a lot of these people that not every family lives in massive homes in West O.

I'm just the messenger and reporting rumors I've heard...which it sounds like Grow Omaha has somewhat confirmed: They are looking at multiple sites and not just downtown. It is what it is. I'd love to see a downtown facility, but it depends on who they think their core demographic is and who is more likely to travel in which direction for their product.

I get the anger. I'd like to sit here saying a downtown stadium is imminent and they are not even considering any other sites, but that's probably not the reality and I think it's almost more likely it ultimately ends up out West than downtown. I'd like to be wrong.

[ryan311]

They would be dumb not to look at multiple sites. However, there are plenty of west Omaha families that would travel downtown to watch games. Being downtown doesn't hurt Creighton as I know plenty of west omaha families that attend those games as well as Union games in Sarpy.

On a side note.....K.C. is planning an 11,000 seat soccer stadium near downtown for their women's team.

[Omaha Cowboy]

I get the anger. I'd like to sit here saying a downtown stadium is imminent and they are not even considering any other sites, but that's probably not the reality and I think it's almost more likely it ultimately ends up out West than downtown. I'd like to be wrong.

Agreed. I think most of us who contribute (and even lurk) on this forum would prefer a significant soccer stadium built at this North Downtown location..but I’m certain due diligence is being paid to the prospect of other locations throughout the metro..

In the end, I’d like to see the highest level of professional soccer being played in Omaha. Wherever it’s built, I hope the size and scope of this stadium project will accommodate it…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Fort Calhoun]

The best soccer stadiums are intimate with seats close to the field. Kansas City's MSL team did not draw well when they played in Arrowhead but fill their soccer stadium. I would like to see a 8,000 seat stadium that is designed to be expanded with an additional 10-12,000 seats in the future

[Greg S]

They would be dumb not to look at multiple sites. However, there are plenty of west Omaha families that would travel downtown to watch games. Being downtown doesn't hurt Creighton as I know plenty of west omaha families that attend those games as well as Union games in Sarpy.

On a side note.....K.C. is planning an 11,000 seat soccer stadium near downtown for their women's team.

Yeah I think it would be short sighted not to explore multiple sites. I knew some would be really upset at the mention of anything but downtown.

That KC stadium for their women's team downtown looks really cool. KC also has Sporting KC, which is incredibly successful play out in the 'burbs in Kansas.

Greg

[Greg S]

The best soccer stadiums are intimate with seats close to the field. Kansas City's MSL team did not draw well when they played in Arrowhead but fill their soccer stadium. I would like to see a 8,000 seat stadium that is designed to be expanded with an additional 10-12,000 seats in the future

I think this is true with all spectator sports. For me UNO hockey's worst years as a fan were at Centurylink, too big and too many empty seats for any real atmosphere. I remember when the Royals/Chasers first announced the size for Werner Park. Many scoffed at it but it's so much better out there as a fan, and I'm not speaking about amenities here (and those are better there too). Rosenblatt even when they put tarps on seats (like UNO did with curtains at CenturyLink) just had no atmosphere. Currently that's Creighton baseball at TD. With the exception of when Nebraska is there or the free ticket military night, it's just dead at those games. My company has club seats for the CWS and Creighton baseball, and even with those seats it's hard to get employees to use those tickets.

8k with ability to expand might be right.

Greg

[omaha79]

The best soccer stadiums are intimate with seats close to the field. Kansas City's MSL team did not draw well when they played in Arrowhead but fill their soccer stadium. I would like to see a 8,000 seat stadium that is designed to be expanded with an additional 10-12,000 seats in the future

It was a long journey for the Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC. They did a great job rebranding. They started to push to ingratiate themselves to those on the Kansas side when they moved out to the Legends area and built a tight knit group, but they still weren't drawing well. Many forget, they spent several seasons playing at the KC T-Bones ballpark in a situation very similar to what Union Omaha has now. They almost lost the team, actually. But, they got the stadium built, and it's fantastic. And, they totally rebranded from Wizards to Sporting, in part to look more like a real soccer team, but also in part to get rid of the minor league feel they had as the Wizards playing in empty ballparks and football stadiums.

To stir the pot on multiple issues...

1. Sporting KC certainly isn't in downtown. They play essentially in a stadium next to an outlet mall that has a mousetrap similar to Oak View. It doesn't seem to hurt them too much. Their street credibility doesn't seem to be hampered because their stadium isn't next to power and lights...and, the fans still seem to find their way out there. Even those that aren't from the burbs. How can this work in KC, but not Omaha? Hmmmmm.

2. When was the last time you saw a professional sports facility built with the option to have its spectator size essentially doubled? And then, actually have it happen? I feel like this was a concept for 1980's AAA baseball stadiums, that not once actually came to fruition. Like something Buffalo had in mind for their AAA team way back when. When was the last time it happened in practice? Is there an MLS team that actually did this? Go from an 8-10K USL stadium to a 20k MLS stadium on a modular basis?

Again, I live in Bellevue. Wherever the stadium ends up, if it happens at all, will be a ways away from my house. I'd rather go downtown. But, if it's in Gretna, I'll still go. I'd like to hope others do too. People in actual big cities laugh at us when we say, "I'd go to the game, but it's wayyyy too far from my house." You can still be anywhere in this town in 30 minutes.

[Greg S]

The best soccer stadiums are intimate with seats close to the field. Kansas City's MSL team did not draw well when they played in Arrowhead but fill their soccer stadium. I would like to see a 8,000 seat stadium that is designed to be expanded with an additional 10-12,000 seats in the future

It was a long journey for the Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC. They did a great job rebranding. They started to push to ingratiate themselves to those on the Kansas side when they moved out to the Legends area and built a tight knit group, but they still weren't drawing well. Many forget, they spent several seasons playing at the KC T-Bones ballpark in a situation very similar to what Union Omaha has now. They almost lost the team, actually. But, they got the stadium built, and it's fantastic. And, they totally rebranded from Wizards to Sporting, in part to look more like a real soccer team, but also in part to get rid of the minor league feel they had as the Wizards playing in empty ballparks and football stadiums.

To stir the pot on multiple issues...

1. Sporting KC certainly isn't in downtown. They play essentially in a stadium next to an outlet mall that has a mousetrap similar to Oak View. It doesn't seem to hurt them too much. Their street credibility doesn't seem to be hampered because their stadium isn't next to power and lights...and, the fans still seem to find their way out there. Even those that aren't from the burbs. How can this work in KC, but not Omaha? Hmmmmm.

2. When was the last time you saw a professional sports facility built with the option to have its spectator size essentially doubled? And then, actually have it happen? I feel like this was a concept for 1980's AAA baseball stadiums, that not once actually came to fruition. Like something Buffalo had in mind for their AAA team way back when. When was the last time it happened in practice? Is there an MLS team that actually did this? Go from an 8-10K USL stadium to a 20k MLS stadium on a modular basis?

Again, I live in Bellevue. Wherever the stadium ends up, if it happens at all, will be a ways away from my house. I'd rather go downtown. But, if it's in Gretna, I'll still go. I'd like to hope others do too. People in actual big cities laugh at us when we say, "I'd go to the game, but it's wayyyy too far from my house." You can still be anywhere in this town in 30 minutes.

Locally CenturyLink was built with the possibility of expanding and it did. Remember when it initially opened, there wasn't a second level of seats above the Bud Bar.

Greg

[Globochem]

Consider the possibility of switching leagues. With a solid and growing draw and the resources that come with that, Union could outgrow its current league. That recently happened in Cincinnati.