A General Election will be held on May 9th, 2000. Omaha voters will vote on a $281 million dollar bond issue to finance the project deemed to be the largest revitalization project for Downtown/North Omaha seen in 20 years. Nearly $75 million in private financing has been pledged prior to the election.
A straw poll indicates roughly 60% of the people polled approve of the idea. Voting depends largely on the turnout. Many aspiring business people and young urban/suburban professionals need to make arrangements to assure their vote is counted! Omaha's Future is knocking!
The proposed convention center and arena is situated on approximately 104 acres of a 422 acre redevelopment site near the Union Pacific railyards. The redevelopment site is bounded by the extension of:
The unique design was created by a team of national design firms under the leadership of the DLR Group in Omaha. The team also included:
The proposed facility has four separate design elements, allowing the facility to hold up to four events at the same time. All four areas can also be incorporated to meet the needs of one large event, such as a national convention or NCAA sports event.
Design Features
| Main Exhibition Hall | 170,000 Sq. ft. |
| Swing space (space between arena & convention center) | 24,000 Sq. ft. |
| Total exhibition space | 194,000 Sq. ft. |
| Seating capacity | 14,600 to 17,000 |
| Ballroom, which can accomadate 3,000 people can be converted into three 10,000 sq. ft. sections. | 30,000 sq. ft. |
| Meeting rooms for breakout sessions | 40,000 sq. ft. |
| Parking for 4,760 vehicles with an additional 540 covered parking stalls |
5,300 stalls |
Proposed Construction Costs
The estimated cost of the proposed facility is $281 million, divided into five basic areas:
| Site acquisition, relocation and demolition | $37 Million |
| Infrastructure improvements including steets, sewers, utilities and parking | $52 Million |
| Convention center and swing space | $109 Million |
| Arena | $75 Million |
| Covered parking garage | $8 Million |
| Total | $281 Million |
Proposed Financing
The proposed facility will be financed through a unique plan:
| Site acquistion, relocation and demolition | $37 Million |
| Infrastructure, improvements including streets | $54 Million |
| Convention center and swing space | $109 Million |
| Arena | $75 Million |
| Covered parking garage | $8 million |
| Total | $281 Million |
The revenues generated by the facility and city bonds comprise the $198 million bond issue voters will be asked to approve on Tuesday, May 9, 2000.
| Revenues generated by the facility | $112 Million |
| General obligation bonds supported | $86 Million |
| Private Donations | $75 Million |
| Yet to be determined | $8 Million |
| Total | $281 Million |
Facility Management
Voters will be asked on May 9th to also approve a revision in the city charter to create a permanent Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority to build, manage, and operate the proposed facility. This independent Authority will be structured similar to the Omaha Airport Authority and will operate in the same manner.
For additional information, see the following links:
Build It Omaha.com
For more information about Omaha, see the Omaha Chamber of
Commerce.