Downtown Soccer Stadium (11th & Millwork Ave)

[nebport5]

These arguments were the original reason I was thinking the Union Stadium might be too small or too narrowly scoped. Maybe they should design a stadium that could eventually seat 15,000-20,000 if/when Union gets promoted. That would also be about the size needed for UFL football.

I'm still not 100% sold on building a stadium just to seat 5,000 people. I do support building something that can grow with Union Omaha.

And that’s exactly what they are doing. Growth implies something small will get bigger. The 5k or so is the appropriate size for UO in the near future. As they grow so will the stadium capacity.

My issue isnt that, but that the bones of the stadium isnt built for the ability to expand into the Premier League to compete in the top league. Just provide the bones and see if we get there, thats all im saying.

Ok, but what are you basing that assumption on? I think the current expansion capacity numbers have a lot to do with the turn back financing. At the point they could move up to the Premier League, that's years in the future and a whole other financing mechanism. I appreciate your point however, if a good portion of this is indeed modular I imagine that would bode well for bigger upgrades at the point that would be necessary.

[Erik]

These arguments were the original reason I was thinking the Union Stadium might be too small or too narrowly scoped. Maybe they should design a stadium that could eventually seat 15,000-20,000 if/when Union gets promoted. That would also be about the size needed for UFL football.

I'm still not 100% sold on building a stadium just to seat 5,000 people. I do support building something that can grow with Union Omaha.

And that’s exactly what they are doing. Growth implies something small will get bigger. The 5k or so is the appropriate size for UO in the near future. As they grow so will the stadium capacity.

My issue isnt that, but that the bones of the stadium isnt built for the ability to expand into the Premier League to compete in the top league. Just provide the bones and see if we get there, thats all im saying.

Ok, but what are you basing that assumption on? I think the current expansion capacity numbers have a lot to do with the turn back financing. At the point they could move up to the Premier League, that's years in the future and a whole other financing mechanism. I appreciate your point however, if a good portion of this is indeed modular I imagine that would bode well for bigger upgrades at the point that would be necessary.

"The City of Omaha is reviewing the redevelopment agreement for the future Union Omaha soccer stadium in north downtown. The plan calls for a roughly $140 million project with the city owning the stadium and land and leasing the facility to Union Omaha. The stadium is planned for about 5,600 seats with the ability to expand to 7,000, and the agreement calls for completion by the end of 2028."

https://growomaha.com/the-october-3rd- ... ?hl=en-US

[nebport5]

These arguments were the original reason I was thinking the Union Stadium might be too small or too narrowly scoped. Maybe they should design a stadium that could eventually seat 15,000-20,000 if/when Union gets promoted. That would also be about the size needed for UFL football.

I'm still not 100% sold on building a stadium just to seat 5,000 people. I do support building something that can grow with Union Omaha.

And that’s exactly what they are doing. Growth implies something small will get bigger. The 5k or so is the appropriate size for UO in the near future. As they grow so will the stadium capacity.

My issue isnt that, but that the bones of the stadium isnt built for the ability to expand into the Premier League to compete in the top league. Just provide the bones and see if we get there, thats all im saying.

Ok, but what are you basing that assumption on? I think the current expansion capacity numbers have a lot to do with the turn back financing. At the point they could move up to the Premier League, that's years in the future and a whole other financing mechanism. I appreciate your point however, if a good portion of this is indeed modular I imagine that would bode well for bigger upgrades at the point that would be necessary.

"The City of Omaha is reviewing the redevelopment agreement for the future Union Omaha soccer stadium in north downtown. The plan calls for a roughly $140 million project with the city owning the stadium and land and leasing the facility to Union Omaha. The stadium is planned for about 5,600 seats with the ability to expand to 7,000, and the agreement calls for completion by the end of 2028."

https://growomaha.com/the-october-3rd- ... ?hl=en-US

Yeah, again I think that is based upon the limits of the turn back financing. There's no way I believe it couldn't physically be expanded larger once the initial requirements are met.

[Erik]

These arguments were the original reason I was thinking the Union Stadium might be too small or too narrowly scoped. Maybe they should design a stadium that could eventually seat 15,000-20,000 if/when Union gets promoted. That would also be about the size needed for UFL football.

I'm still not 100% sold on building a stadium just to seat 5,000 people. I do support building something that can grow with Union Omaha.

And that’s exactly what they are doing. Growth implies something small will get bigger. The 5k or so is the appropriate size for UO in the near future. As they grow so will the stadium capacity.

My issue isnt that, but that the bones of the stadium isnt built for the ability to expand into the Premier League to compete in the top league. Just provide the bones and see if we get there, thats all im saying.

Ok, but what are you basing that assumption on? I think the current expansion capacity numbers have a lot to do with the turn back financing. At the point they could move up to the Premier League, that's years in the future and a whole other financing mechanism. I appreciate your point however, if a good portion of this is indeed modular I imagine that would bode well for bigger upgrades at the point that would be necessary.

"The City of Omaha is reviewing the redevelopment agreement for the future Union Omaha soccer stadium in north downtown. The plan calls for a roughly $140 million project with the city owning the stadium and land and leasing the facility to Union Omaha. The stadium is planned for about 5,600 seats with the ability to expand to 7,000, and the agreement calls for completion by the end of 2028."

https://growomaha.com/the-october-3rd- ... ?hl=en-US

Yeah, again I think that is based upon the limits of the turn back financing. There's no way I believe it couldn't physically be expanded larger once the initial requirements are met.

I mean, I haven't seen a single statement indicating anything other than 7k. It'd be nice to get more information.

[omaha79]

In terms of USL Premier, it will be interesting to see if it even lasts. But, if it does, it sounds like there is an expectation of multiple waivers being granted.

The requirements are difficult to hit on all of them, at best.

1. 15k stadium capacity. (That's going to be tough for a bulk of the cities.)
2. Requires 75% of participating teams to be located in metropolitan areas with a population of 1 million or more, spanning at least three different time zones. (probably easier)
3. In accordance with standard Division I financial criteria, a principal owner must possess a net worth of at least $40 million, with a combined group net worth of at least $70 million (plus dedicated operating capital requirements).


It's expected that it will be hard to hit that 15k seat number, especially with promotion/relegation in the mix. Longer term, If Omaha can succeed, 10k would have to be the goal, but there just isn't the market for it now.

[WBR_Tom]

City Council approved the redevelopment agreement and stadium lease this afternoon. Interestingly, the size is now bigger than Grow Omaha previously reported: total capacity is 8,500 spectators with approximately 6,500 fixed seats.

https://www.unionomaha.com/future-home-of-union-omaha/
https://www.unionomaha.com/news/2026/10 ... velopment/

They have an FAQ page now with more details about the particulars:

https://www.unionomaha.com/new-stadium-faq/

[stadsborgare]

One question I didn't see -

Will it be natural grass or artificial turf?

[jomaha9]

Good move. The initial size of 8,500 seats seems about right. As stated in the thread, it is likely the stadium can expand as the need arises.

I was initially concerned we would be building a brand new stadium that would be quickly outgrown or obsolete, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

[nebport5]

One question I didn't see -

Will it be natural grass or artificial turf?

I believe it's been stated that it will be artificial turf, largely related to remediation safety.

Good move. The initial size of 8,500 seats seems about right. As stated in the thread, it is likely the stadium can expand as the need arises.

I was initially concerned we would be building a brand new stadium that would be quickly outgrown or obsolete, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Ok, I went back and reread the Turn Back application limits and it reads as "permanent seating capacity of at least 2,500, but no more than 7,500, with a total capacity not to exceed 10,000".

I misremembered it as being a smaller cap at 7,500.

So for those wanting a bigger stadium sooner than later 8,500 with a 10k capacity max is somewhat of an appeasement. Of course, similar to the Golden Spikes not wanting to play in too big of a stadium like The Chuck initially, but rather an appropriate sized venue with projected growth, UO will not want an 8,500-10k stadium right out of the gate when has been in the 3-4k range.

[Linkin5]

One question I didn't see -

Will it be natural grass or artificial turf?

I believe it's been stated that it will be artificial turf, largely related to remediation safety.

Using turf for a professional soccer team seems like an incredibly poor choice. Besides just not looking as good turf causes more leg injuries for players.

[thenewguy]

I missed the berm seating on the north end in the original renderings. And the $140M is everything including utilities, which is likely a sizeable chunk of change. I don't feel as bad about it as I did and any other enhancements down the road wouldn't have the same sticker shock because it won't include infrastructure in the cost. I am also glad to see they are working to use existing parking in the area for the stadium, and the streetcar will be only a hop, skip and a jump away, which obviously opens up a ton of parking from elsewhere in the city. You really could make a day out of parking at Mutual, hitting the GLM, waiting for the train, and catching a game. Get some dinner before or after and wouldn't have to mess with driving around 3 separate areas for parking.

[omaha79]

One question I didn't see -

Will it be natural grass or artificial turf?

I believe it's been stated that it will be artificial turf, largely related to remediation safety.

Using turf for a professional soccer team seems like an incredibly poor choice. Besides just not looking as good turf causes more leg injuries for players.

I'm sure it's a cost factor.

I don't know if USL Premier will have a requirement of grass, but the lower levels have been pretty lenient on the idea of turf. The turf is seen as a better compromise than what Omaha had of a team playing on a baseball field that had grass.