Open Omaha

[Greg S]

Went to this on Saturday and so glad I did. Due to storms and not having power, along with some cleanup I got a much later start and didn't really have time to study all the locations.

The one location that I really wanted to go to and was so glad I did was Steelhouse Omaha. It was fantastic. Very well staffed and you pretty much explore the full building. Got to go up on stage, backstage, see and go in all the dressing rooms, the area where they have all the performers autographs backstage, the upstairs, the club and outdoor adjoining patio upstairs. They had their bar open downstairs and people were really enjoying it. I would have stayed longer if I got an earlier start. Loved talking with their staff.

Charles Schwab Field. MECA was not as good. All you could access was the Club Level and go outside from the bar in the middle on that level behind home plate. Our company has club level seats for the CWS and Creighton so I have been lucky enough to be up there. Was hoping to see the floor above where the broadcasters are along with the dugouts and warm up areas under the stadium but none of those areas were available. T

CHI Center. Looked like you could do some exploring in the convention center but decided to wait for another time hopefully they particate again once the new addition is complete. They had a few more things open. You could not just go on club level but go into a suite. On the bottom level, you could go into the dressing rooms. Also got to see the newer lounge down there, which I think initially housed UNO hockey's locker room. The big disappointment was Creighton. I walked in behind a family and they asked about going in Creighton's locker room which I was hoping to see as well. Manager from CHI said unfortunately Creighton declined to send a representative so they couldn't open it and allow visitors inside. Missed opportunity for Creighton as there were quite a few kids and families there. I did get to see Creighton's floor for the upcoming season. They had it roped off as they had just put a second coat of sealant or whatever goes on it to protect it. Looked great.

I will say the MECA staff was nice and good about giving information, directions and answering questions.

Joslyn Art Museum (the castle was also available). Unfortunately only had time for one more. Tried Joslyn (the event ended at 4 and it was now 3:30) and a family that was leaving saw I had one of the event stickers on and warned me that Joslyn was kind of shutting down a bit early. Even though I am in there all the time since I was close by decided to walk across the parking lot and see what Central was doing.

Central High School. There were a ton of people touring Central. Central had a mix of their alumni association, including very recent grads to ones from the 50's giving guided tours, along with teachers and staff. They also had stationary alum around the building giving talks about that particular area. Was fantastic. Even though I went there in the 80's and my kids graduated from there, including one this year, I still learned new information.

I loved it. Wish I had been able to start the day sooner. Will definitely go again next year. I am really hoping to get a survey so I can offer some suggestions (especially on the 2 MECA facilities).

https://www.omahabydesign.org/openomaha

[Brad]

Also got to see the newer lounge down there, which I think initially housed UNO hockey's locker room.

Its actually part of Creighton's original locker room and they now have the area were UNO's locker room was. That whole area was completely gutted and reconfigured.

Was the Supernovas locker room open? Its around the bend, a little east of the new lounge. Curious how much that room was changed for them. They painted a large supernovas logo around the door. Originally Creighton was using that locker room too, I think they had food in there for the players.

[skinzfan23]

Thanks for sharing your experience Greg. I was strongly considering going but ended up getting up late (due to little sleep from the storms) and mowing (which took way longer than I anticipated)

I was looking for a previous post about Open Omaha but couldn't find one easily.

I believe this is an annual event, we should try to get a group of us together to tour some places next year. I really wanted to see the ones you went to in addition to the Millwork. The last time a bunch of us got together was in 2014 for the 10 yrs or eomaha and we toured where the Woolworth Lofts are now in the Old Market and the Residence Inn downtown.

[BRoss]

The last time a bunch of us got together was in 2014 for the 10 yrs or eomaha and we toured where the Woolworth Lofts are now in the Old Market and the Residence Inn downtown.

Wow, that was that long ago? Looks like we missed doing something for the 20 year last year.

[Greg S]

Also got to see the newer lounge down there, which I think initially housed UNO hockey's locker room.

Its actually part of Creighton's original locker room and they now have the area were UNO's locker room was. That whole area was completely gutted and reconfigured.

Was the Supernovas locker room open? Its around the bend, a little east of the new lounge. Curious how much that room was changed for them. They painted a large supernovas logo around the door. Originally Creighton was using that locker room too, I think they had food in there for the players.

I stopped where the Warhorse Bar was so I am not sure on Supernova's. It is possible that it was because people were walking that way (but I didn't know where they were going).

Greg

[Greg S]

Thanks for sharing your experience Greg. I was strongly considering going but ended up getting up late (due to little sleep from the storms) and mowing (which took way longer than I anticipated)

I was looking for a previous post about Open Omaha but couldn't find one easily.

I believe this is an annual event, we should try to get a group of us together to tour some places next year. I really wanted to see the ones you went to in addition to the Millwork. The last time a bunch of us got together was in 2014 for the 10 yrs or eomaha and we toured where the Woolworth Lofts are now in the Old Market and the Residence Inn downtown.

Yeah before posting this, I tried to find a previous one as well. Yeah I think it was the third one maybe? I downloaded the app they have for this (app is also called Open Omaha) and it was good. Would be interested in meeting a group next year at it.

Greg