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Address | 1804 Capitol Avenue |
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Location | Omaha, Nebraska |
Coordinates | 41°15′42″N95°56′24″W / 41.26167°N 95.94000°W |
Public transit | Metro Transit |
Owner | City of Omaha |
Operator | Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA) |
Capacity | Arena: Concerts: 10,960 Basketball: 9,300 Music Hall: 2,453 |
Surface | multi-surface |
Construction | |
Opened | 1954 |
Closed | June 2014 |
Demolished | 2016 |
Tenants | |
Creighton Bluejays men's basketball (NCAA) (1960–2003) Omaha racer (1989-1997) Kansas City-Omaha Kings (NBA) (1972–1978) Omaha Mavericks (CCHA) (1997–2003) Omaha Beef (IPFL/NIFL/UIF/IFL) (2000–2012) Creighton Bluejays women's basketball and volleyball (NCAA) (2003–2009) Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (AHL) (2005–2007) Omaha Lancers (USHL) (2009–2012) Omaha Vipers (MISL) (2010–2011) |
Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center Omaha in 2003. With the opening of the Ralston Arena in 2012, all teams that played at the Civic Auditorium moved, which reduced the venue's viability. The auditorium closed its doors in June 2014 and was demolished two years later.
The Civic Auditorium arena seated up to 9,300 for sporting events and up to 10,960 for concerts.
The Omaha Civic Auditorium Music Hall was located on the east side of Omaha Civic Auditorium and was used for concerts, Broadway shows and other events. It seated 2,453 and was known for its intimate yet casual atmosphere.
The Civic Auditorium Exhibit Hall featured 43,400 square feet (4,000 m2) of space for conventions and trade shows.
Mancuso Hall was a large-events venue used for parties, trade shows, concerts, banquets, and conventions, among other events. 25,000 square feet (2300 m2) of space, Mancuso Hall seated 2,500 for concerts and 1,500 for banquets.
In the past, the arena was home to the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team, the Creighton women's basketball and volleyball teams, and the University of Nebraska Omaha hockey team, and the Kansas City-Omaha Kings NBA basketball team.
The arena was the site of the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game in 1978. [1] It was also the site of the seventh WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996. Billy Graham's Nebraska Crusade took place at the arena in 1964.
George Wallace (1919–1998) was a populist segregationist who ran a third-party presidential campaign to enhance the political clout of segregationist Southern leaders. On March 4, 1968, he came to Omaha to speak at the Civic Auditorium. The space in the auditorium had a limit of 3,400 people but more than 5,000 were admitted. Omahans packed in to support the candidate, except for a group of African American and white protesters seated at the foot of the stage. Many were youth with the Omaha NAACP, the DePorres Club and other protest organizations. At the apex of the speech, some of the protesters tore up signs they were waving and threw them on the stage, while others released stink bombs filling the auditorium with a foul odor. Police began attacking the protesters and brutalized them in front of the audience's applause. Fleeing the auditorium for safety, rioting ensued along North 24th Street, the main thoroughfare in Omaha's Black neighborhood. Civil unrest continued for days afterward, and Wallace's visit is attributed to the destruction of the neighborhood, further decimation of relations between the Omaha Police Department and the Black community, and more. [2]
Afterward, the main story in the Omaha World-Herald was recalled as “almost a press release from the Wallace campaign, and yes that’s the way political journalism was back then, but it didn’t have any context.” [3]
One of Elvis Presley's final concerts was held at the Civic Auditorium on June 19, 1977. [4] The concert was filmed for a CBS TV special, Elvis in Concert . [4]
A notable event at the Civic Auditorium was the 1988 U.S. vice-presidential debate between Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Republican Dan Quayle. The debate produced one of the most famous quotes in American political history.
Quayle, then a U.S. Senator from Indiana, had been a relative political unknown and reporters covering the campaign wondered if he would make a suitable president if something were to have happened to George H. W. Bush, who selected him as his running mate. In response to a question, Quayle pointed out that he had as much experience in the Senate as John F. Kennedy had prior to being elected President of the United States in 1960. To which, Bentsen, a Senate veteran from Texas, responded: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
On May 25, 1972, Ron Stander, a ranked heavyweight contender from Council Bluffs, Iowa, known as "The Bluffs Butcher", fought the champion, Joe Frazier, for the World Heavyweight Championship, to a sold-out house. After Stander won the first round, he received severe cuts to his face, calling for ring doctor, Jack Lewis, to ask referee, Zack Clayton to stop the contest, before the fifth-round bell. Stander received seventeen stitches to close the cuts. This was Frazier's last title defense before his loss to George Foreman, the following year.
Demolition of the Civic Auditorium began in August 2016. [5] Nothing remains except bare dirt and grass at the site.
Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
Creighton University is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergraduate students on a 140-acre (57 ha) campus just outside of downtown Omaha. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It comprises nine undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools and colleges, including a law school, medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, nursing school, and business school. The university operates the Creighton University Medical Center. It has a second campus focused on health sciences located in Phoenix, Arizona.
The CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) facility has an 18,975-seat arena, a 194,000 sq ft (18,000 m2) exhibition hall, and 62,000 sq ft (5,800 m2) of meeting space.
The Pershing Center was a 4,526-seat multi-purpose arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. As of August 10, 2023, the facility was undergoing demolition.
Mobile Civic Center is a multi-purpose facility located in Mobile, Alabama. Owned by the City of Mobile and operated by ASM Global, the facility consists of three venues: a theater, an expo hall, and an arena. It is suitable for large indoor events including sporting events and trade shows. The theater seats for 1,938, while the expo hall can seat 3,000. The largest venue of the Mobile Civic Center is the arena, which can seat 10,112.
The Ottawa Auditorium was a 7,500-seat arena located in Ottawa, Ontario. It was located in Downtown Ottawa at the corner of O'Connor and Argyle Streets, today the site of the Taggart Family YMCA. Built primarily for ice hockey, the arena was also used for sports events, assemblies and musical concerts.
"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice presidential debate by Democratic nominee Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican nominee Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle's comparison of his experience in Congress to that of John F. Kennedy, the Democratic 35th president of the United States, whom Bentsen knew from their time as congressmen from the 80th to 82nd Congresses. Since then, the words "You're no Jack Kennedy," or some variation on the remark, have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. Michael Dukakis and Bentsen later went on to lose the 1988 United States presidential election to George H. W. Bush and Quayle, who thus succeeded Bush as vice president of the United States.
The Monument, formerly known as Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and Rushmore Plaza, is a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) exhibition center, in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Monument is the main event center for the Black Hills Region, serving Western South Dakota, South West North Dakota, North West Nebraska, and Eastern Wyoming.
The Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts is a historic, publicly owned multi-purpose building located in Oakland, California. The facility includes a 5,492-seat arena, a large theater, and a large ballroom. The building is #27 on the list of Oakland Historic Landmarks., and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose arena in San Francisco, California, named after promoter Bill Graham. The arena holds 8,500 people.
Morrison Stadium is a 6,000-seat soccer-specific stadium located between 17th and 19th Streets to the north of Cass Street, on the east side of the Creighton University campus in the NoDo neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The main entrance and ticket window is located on the west side, at the intersection of California and Florence Blvd..
The Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represents Creighton University of the NCAA Division I college basketball. It competes in the Big East Conference, which it joined following the Big East conference realignment in 2013. The Bluejays play their home games at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 17,048 fans per home game in 2014–15.
The culture of Omaha, Nebraska, has been partially defined by music and college sports, and by local cuisine and community theatre. The city has a long history of improving and expanding on its cultural offerings. In the 1920s, the Omaha Bee newspaper wrote, "The cultural future of Omaha seems as certain of greatness as the commercial future... The symphony orchestra, the Art institute, the Community Playhouse and other organizations are on firm foundations and Omaha is destined to be not only a bigger, but a better city, both financially and culturally." Reviewing Omaha's contemporary arts scene in 2007, the New York Times hailed the city as having "a kind of cultural awakening".
Sports in Omaha, Nebraska are supported by a high attendance at events and tax support from the City of Omaha. Omaha, Nebraska is home to several professional sports teams and modern sports venues.
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center is a building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center. Named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County, it opened on February 1, 1955.
Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska, United States offers visitors history, sports, nature and cultural experiences. Its principal tourist attractions are the Henry Doorly Zoo and the College World Series (CWS). A 2003 study by a Creighton University economist estimated that the CWS added $33.8 million to the city's economy that year. With 1.1 million visitors annually, the Henry Doorly Zoo is Nebraska's most popular tourist attraction. In 2007 Omaha hosted the USA Roller Sports National Championships, along with 10,000 people who auditioned for the American Idol television show at Qwest Center Omaha.
The Liberty First Credit Union Arena, formerly known as Ralston Arena and sometimes as Ralston Sports and Event Center, is an arena located in Ralston, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. It serves as the home of the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League and the Omaha Beef of the National Arena League (NAL). It was home to the Omaha Mavericks NCAA Division I men's basketball team, representing the University of Nebraska Omaha, from its opening until the end of the 2014–15 season. The school opened Baxter Arena for the 2015–16 season.
Baxter Arena is a sports arena in the central United States in Omaha, Nebraska. Owned and operated by the University of Nebraska Omaha, it serves as the home of several of the university's intercollegiate athletic teams, known as the Omaha Mavericks. The arena opened to the public on October 23, 2015, when the hockey team defeated Air Force 4–2.
The 1978 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was held February 27–March 5; the first two rounds were played on campus sites with the semifinal and final contested at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska, hosted by Creighton University.
The 1988 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 1988 presidential election.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by None | Home of the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 2005 – 07 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Home of the Kansas City-Omaha Kings (with Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City) 1972 – 75 | Succeeded by |