Qwest Center Omaha
is an arena and convention center facility in the NoDo neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1.1 million ft² facility has an 18,300-seat arena, a 194,000-ft² exhibition hall and 62,000 ft² of meeting space. The arena hosts various basketball games, hockey games. professional wrestling events and concerts. Another notable event held there is the annual shareholders meeting of Omaha-based conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. Other names for the facility are "The Qwest", "The Riverfront Center", "The Omaha Convention Center & Arena".
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CENTURYLINK CENTER OMAHA (FORMERLY QWEST CENTER) TICKETS
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History
In 2000,
Omaha voters approved a $216 million bond issue to build a new convention center and arena; the remainder of the $291 million project was provided by private organizations and individuals. The facility design was led by DLR Group, a national architecture and engineering firm. Naming rights to the arena were purchased by
Qwest.
Qwest Center Omaha opened in September 2003 with an initial seating capacity of 17,000 for concerts, 15,500 for
basketball, and 14,700 for
hockey. In 2006, a $5.7-million expansion of the arena increased capacity by approximately 1,500 seats.
The Qwest Center displaced the 1954
Omaha Civic Auditorium as the premier indoor arena in the city. The venerable
Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum was closed in 2002 and was demolished in 2005.
The Arena was home to the
WWE Judgment Day 2008 pay-per-view.
A portion of the roof, "The Hat", was damaged by a storm on
June 27,
2008. There was no structural damage, however, the damage caused water to pour into parts of the Qwest Center, flowed down two sets of arena steps and onto the deck of the competition pool for the
USA Swimming Summer Olympic Trials. The schedule for the trials went on as scheduled.
[1]
Tenants
- Creighton Bluejays men's college basketball
- UNO Mavericks ice hockey
- Nebraska School Activities Association -- Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament
Attendance History
Top 10 Largest Home Crowds at Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton History
| Rank
| Attendance
| Opponent
| Result
| Date
|
| 1
| 17,607
| Drexel
| L 58-64
| Feb 17, 2007
|
| 2
| 17,459
| Southern Illinois
| L 57-58
| Jan 20, 2007
|
| 3
| 17,371
| Indiana State
| W 86-69
| Jan 19, 2008
|
| 4
| 17,263
| Indiana State
| W 71-55
| Jan 27, 2007
|
| 5
| 17,110
| Wichita State
| W 71-54
| Feb 24, 2007
|
| 6
| 17,053
| #22 Drake
| L 60-68
| Jan 22, 2008
|
| 7
| 17,049
| Nebraska
| W 74-62
| Nov 24, 2007
|
| 8
| 16,808
| Illinois State
| L 67-80
| Dec 29, 2007
|
| 9
| 16,730
| Mississippi Valley State
| W 76-46
| Nov 17, 2007
|
| 10
| 16,644
| Wichita State
| W 65-63
| Feb 2, 2008
|
Records and milestones
The Qwest Center holds several NCAA records, especially in college volleyball. For instance, on
December 16,
2006, the largest crowd to watch an
NCAA Women's Volleyball National Championship since the NCAA started sponsoring in 1981 occurred here. 17,209 fans watched the
2006 NCAA National Championship match between the
Nebraska and
Stanford. On the evening of February 17, 2007, the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in Nebraska occurred when 17,607 fans watches the ESPN Bracketbuster game between
Creighton and
Drexel. On October 21, 2007, another NCAA volleyball record was set at the Qwest Center. 13,396 fans watched a match between Nebraska and
Hawaiʻi, the largest regular season volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
See also
- Omaha Civic Auditorium
- Mid-America Center
- Rosenblatt Stadium
- Ak-Sar-Ben - (defunct)
References
- (nd) Severe storm in Omaha damages swimming arena Retrieved 7/1/2008.