CHI Health Center (10th & Cass Street)

[iamjacobm]

Thought: Omaha was scheduled to host the MLB draft when it was cancelled in 2020. I have often wondered when/ if they would go after that event again? I think at the time it was scheduled for the Holland but it would not surprise me to learn that hosting the draft might require a war room/ meeting space for each team. There are 30 MLB teams, so.... Maybe it's possible that one of the many reasons for expanding the CHI is to go after the draft again. Moving from 16 to 40 rooms would certainly allow for every team to have a conference room.

That is never coming back. Omaha would have rolled out the red carpet, but Covid killed the opportunity. Baseball is having a good outcome rotating the draft in MLB cities now and I figure that will be the case for decades. It is a bummer b/c the city would have made a great host if they had the opportunity

[Mapguy]

The news article quoted a 200,000,000 cost for 2 levels totaling 40,000 sqft.

Thats $5000/sqft; seems extremely high unless they are planning to facelift the entire complex as well????

Am I missing something? I feel like this project could be reasonably be done for 20-50 million.

[almighty_tuna]

they are planning to facelift the entire complex as well????

The entire east side will be refaced.

[ita]

they are planning to facelift the entire complex as well????

The entire east side will be refaced.

I think there is a $25M renovation of existing space as well that's baked into that estimate.

[Bob from Omaha]

From May 2000. Note where future restaurant and retail were potentially to go. Also, the land for the hotel was for a high rise, among other things.

[ita]

Here's a brief update from the May MECA minutes:

Work continues on the design for the convention center expansion project. While the project remains on budget, an update will be provided to the Board of Directors next month. Discussions have begun with the Omaha Chamber and the City of Omaha on how to campaign for the vote on the bond package slated for the November vote. Ms. Linda Lovgren with Emspace has been contacted concerning the marketing aspect of it.

[ita]

Here's what the Omaha convention center would look like if it gets a $200 million upgrade

[skinzfan23]

Also from that article:

The bond issue would also indirectly fund the $10 million replacement of all the video boards at the CHI Center, including the main scoreboard and ribbon boards in the arena and the outside marquee at 10th and Capitol.

MECA is currently using its own reserve funds to pay for the planning of the convention center expansion. But if the bond issue passes, MECA would be reimbursed for that expense with bond dollars, which would then be directed toward the video upgrades.

Wondering when the next upgrade was going to happen. The last one was in 2013.

[skinzfan23]

I really like the upgrade overall and think it will benefit the Omaha community. Maybe they can finally get the outside LED lighting fixed to where its working all at the same time. (mainly on the arena part, it seems like there are sections of it out all the time and its really noticeable looking down 10th St from the new parks and driving by on the interstate.)

[Brad]

Great they are making use of the riverfront views!

[skinzfan23]

Great they are making use of the riverfront views!

Yes, especially with all the new investment on the riverfront and also the new proposed soccer stadium. (although it might be harder to see from here, but should still be somewhat visable)

[Garrett]

Looks nice! Just wish they could get some sort of entrance over the railroad tracks to give better access to the Riverfront.

[nebport5]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

[GrowUpFrances]

Looks nice! Just wish they could get some sort of entrance over the railroad tracks to give better access to the Riverfront.

Agreed that would make a big difference and add to the energy of the Riverfront if convention attendees could access the parks like that.

[ita]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

Maybe the investment to get into the upper tier in terms of size and number of rooms is not worth it, that the expansion will allow us to compete for conventions or meetings we can actually land. It's a right sized upsize.

[skinzfan23]

Agreed, if it takes $200 Million to be in the middle of the pack I am not sure that we need to go much higher for this.

Its actually pretty sad that we are dead last right now, although I bet a lot of the other cities have their space within another building and not actually connected/in the same building as their arena, which is a nice touch for Omaha.

[CBJason]

They couldn’t go ahead and put the new MoO HQ in the skyline rendering?! lol

[skinzfan23]

They couldn’t go ahead and put the new MoO HQ in the skyline rendering?! lol

Haha, I was thinking the same thing

[Garrett]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

Maybe the investment to get into the upper tier in terms of size and number of rooms is not worth it, that the expansion will allow us to compete for conventions or meetings we can actually land. It's a right sized upsize.

The comparison was to peer cities though. I can’t imagine they’ll be sitting on their hands for upgrades either. I’d’ve hoped that we could have scratched the top 5 out of 20 rather than just 11 out of 20, but maybe that’s indeed too much money.

[ita]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

Maybe the investment to get into the upper tier in terms of size and number of rooms is not worth it, that the expansion will allow us to compete for conventions or meetings we can actually land. It's a right sized upsize.

The comparison was to pier cities though. I can’t imagine they’ll be sitting on their hands for upgrades either. I’d’ve hoped that we could have scratched the top 5 out of 20 rather than just 11 out of 20, but maybe that’s indeed too much money.

I get the critique. I do not now the convention business at all, but there may just be a point in terms of capacity that going bigger is not necessarily better where being so big that we can accommodate a certain size convention that will generally just go to a bigger convention city like Chicago, Vegas, or somewhere in Florida. So, we might be able to compete space or capacity wise, but everything else we are not competitive. There might just be more opportunity for whatever conventions need the space we are upgrading to.

[nebport5]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

Maybe the investment to get into the upper tier in terms of size and number of rooms is not worth it, that the expansion will allow us to compete for conventions or meetings we can actually land. It's a right sized upsize.

The comparison was to peer cities though. I can’t imagine they’ll be sitting on their hands for upgrades either. I’d’ve hoped that we could have scratched the top 5 out of 20 rather than just 11 out of 20, but maybe that’s indeed too much money.

Yes, this. No one would expect to compete with Chicago, Vegas, etc but don't we want to be among the top for "the competitive set"? Would raising another 20-40 million now be worth the investment? I don't know either but we do know 200 million 10-20 years from now will not go nearly as far.

[Stvbec74]

They couldn’t go ahead and put the new MoO HQ in the skyline rendering?! lol

Haha, I was thinking the same thing

I know lol

[ita]

Some sort of an outside deck would be a nice touch.

I'm scratching my head a bit over Roger Dixon's quote about currently being at the bottom competitively, yet this will only put it at "midpoint". Is being middle of the pack really going to be competitive?

Maybe the investment to get into the upper tier in terms of size and number of rooms is not worth it, that the expansion will allow us to compete for conventions or meetings we can actually land. It's a right sized upsize.

The comparison was to peer cities though. I can’t imagine they’ll be sitting on their hands for upgrades either. I’d’ve hoped that we could have scratched the top 5 out of 20 rather than just 11 out of 20, but maybe that’s indeed too much money.

Yes, this. No one would expect to compete with Chicago, Vegas, etc but don't we want to be among the top for "the competitive set"? Would raising another 20-40 million now be worth the investment? I don't know either but we do know 200 million 10-20 years from now will not go nearly as far.

I think it was Deb Ward from the visitor's bureau, but she basically said during the city council meeting that the going bigger, even against peer cities, we would be up against much larger cities with a lot more hotel capacity.

[F0R_L1F3]

Hopefully this'll get a mixed use on Lot B rolling.

[Garrett]

Hopefully this'll get a mixed use on Lot B rolling.

The Mayor mentioned on Grow Omaha a few months back that they were planning for a 3rd convention hotel on Lot B, which I’m assuming would be part of a mixed use development. She also mentioned a garage on Lot D, though I wonder if there will be some shifts in those plans with the Union Omaha development.

[ita]

I wanted to add that when it was announced earlier this year, reporting was that the expansion was adding 40k square feet. There were justifiable concerns about the cost per square foot. There must of been some major miscommunications going on because the expansion is adding over 90k square feet, per the OWH article.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Nice! As an occasional convention/conference attendee, I would certainly enjoy this space.

I also did not realize how deceptive the front of the CHI Health Center is to the amount interior space there is currently. I figured the second floor covered the same floor area as the first floor when it actually only covers about half. I can't tell if the addition is going occupy the empty space on the second floor or if all of it will jut out over where the loading dock is currently.

[Garrett]

Nice! As an occasional convention/conference attendee, I would certainly enjoy this space.

I also did not realize how deceptive the front of the CHI Health Center is to the amount interior space there is currently. I figured the second floor covered the same floor area as the first floor when it actually only covers about half. I can't tell if the addition is going occupy the empty space on the second floor or if all of it will jut out over where the loading dock is currently.

I think it’s mostly going to jut out. I’m assuming that they want a lot of that empty space to remain empty for the sake of the warehouse-esque high ceilings that a lot of main convention halls have.

[Bob from Omaha]

There is another topic here about Omaha punching above its weight.

I'd submit that while this expansion is both pricey and seems nice, my own opinion is that it isn't enough. I don't buy the idea that hotel rooms are a limiting factor either. I've been to probably hundreds of conventions and trade shows around the country and no, not every convention or trade show dreams of Vegas or Chicago when planning. I can cite dozens of cities that have hosted such things that are either Omaha's peer cities, less than, or more. I think that another $100-150M could easily be raised, mostly privately, to further expand the convention center.

Just my opinion

[NEDodger]

There’s also a finite number of conventions, so just because you added more space doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to sway any from another city.

Spending another 150 million on top of this to be in the top 5 only to gain an additonal, say, 3 conventions isn’t worth it. I’m sure a lot of research was done to see what conventions would actually move at what points of square footage and the resulting price point.

[nebugeater]

There’s also a finite number of conventions, so just because you added more space doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to sway any from another city.

Spending another 150 million on top of this to be in the top 5 only to gain an additonal, say, 3 conventions isn’t worth it. I’m sure a lot of research was done to see what conventions would actually move at what points of square footage and the resulting price point.

You have more faith than I do then.

[Bob from Omaha]

There’s also a finite number of conventions, so just because you added more space doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to sway any from another city.

Spending another 150 million on top of this to be in the top 5 only to gain an additonal, say, 3 conventions isn’t worth it. I’m sure a lot of research was done to see what conventions would actually move at what points of square footage and the resulting price point.

I'd agree, or hope anyway, that some research was done. On the other hand, there are literally hundreds of conventions, trade shows, conferences, etc. Again, I've been to hundreds of events around the country & I see no reason why Omaha can't attract a LOT more. Omaha got the swim trials. Who'd have called that before it happened? If an event can happen in Columbus, Ohio, why not Omaha? If an event can happen in Dallas (Yes, Dallas) why not Omaha? Same with many other cities. I'd rather see a why not Omaha rather than excuses why not. When the convention center/arena was proposed you wouldn't believe the nay sayers who came out of the woodwork. "Nobody wants to come to Omaha. We aren't big enough. Everyone wants to go to Vegas. Whine, Whine, Whine." Look what has happened since then.

I'm not suggesting adding a million square feet. I'm suggesting a can do attitude. A why not attitude.

[thenewguy]

Renderings show proposed $200 million expansion for Omaha's CHI Health Center

https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-chi- ... 66wP_o9wag

If approved in November, groundbreaking could start as early as this year.

[ita]

Preliminary plan was approved by the urban design board this month. It will go to the planning department for approval, so we might see it in October's agenda (I am not totally sure how quick it moves once it leaves the urban design board).

[Greg S]

I know we talked during the Supernovas season about how high their fees were on tickets. Gary Sharp posted this. It's the fees for 2 tickets for the CU Purdue exhibition game. It looks like CHI has the highest in the region. Between fees and taxes, they are higher than the actual ticket price:

[NEDodger]

I know we talked during the Supernovas season about how high their fees were on tickets. Gary Sharp posted this. It's the fees for 2 tickets for the CU Purdue exhibition game. It looks like CHI has the highest in the region. Between fees and taxes, they are higher than the actual ticket price:

I know at least at the OPA facilities, fees are waived if you purchase directly at the box office - does that apply to CHI as well?

[skinzfan23]

Yes, if you purchase at the box office, you may still have the small facility fee, but not the higher ticketmaster fees.

Just did it with the Dierks Bentley concert. Tickets were only $26 but online they were about $50 each. Bought them at the box office and it came to around $30.

[Mapguy]

I just dont see a 100,000,000 contribution for meeting rooms being a winner for Omaha. The average Omahan isn't going to attend conferences at CHI Center---it's not an amenity most people can or will use. So why would they vote for a bond to increase their taxes for that?

I feel like this is along the lines of stadium building where every city toutes the tourism dollars but the economics never come close to covering the investment.

I think if you were to put 100 million on the kitchen table and ask voters would you like 3 more ORBT lines, refurbished libraries, more low income housing, or 25 meeting rooms to pull in more conferences the average voter would pick the conference rooms last.

[Brad]

I disagree:
1. Bonds don't necessarily raise taxes
2. Our Ballpark cost $131 Million. The 2023 CWS had a $115 Million impact on the Omaha area.
3. Orbit would come in last place

I know most Omaha residents don't attend conferences, but the ability to attract larger conferences will help the whole area.

[Big E]

This really is more of a Shelbyville idea....