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.
The city has hosted a number of important sporting events. Since 1950 Omaha has hosted the baseball College World Series. The Cox Classic golf tournament was part of the second-level circuit now known as the Korn Ferry Tour from 1996 to 2013. The circuit returned to Omaha in 2017 with the Pinnacle Bank Championship.
Former sports clubs in Omaha include the USL Premier Development League's Flames soccer team; the American Association's Omaha Dodgers; two professional hockey teams, the Omaha Knights and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights; a CBA Basketball Team, the Omaha Racers; and the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks.
Several sports have heritage in Omaha. The American Taekwondo Association was founded by Haeng Ung Lee in Omaha in 1969. [1] Alois P. Swoboda, the pioneer American physical culture at the turn of the 20th century. His revolutionary course "Conscious Evolution" inspired many American leaders in the fields of government, business, entertainment, law, athletics and medicine.
In 1972 the Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball Association moved to a new primary home in Kansas City and a secondary home in Omaha, carrying the name Kansas City-Omaha Kings, the only time in the history of Omaha that they were home to a major-league sports team, despite sharing it with Kansas City. The team ceased Omaha operations in 1975 and became known as just the Kansas City Kings.
From 1988 to 1997 the Omaha Racers of the CBA played at Ak-Sar-Ben winning the CBA league championship in 1993. The only number retired by the Racers was Tim Legler's number 23.
The Omaha Beef indoor football team has played at Ralston Arena since 2013; it previously played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League also began playing in 2010 at Rosenblatt Stadium, and at TD Ameritrade Park in 2011 until the league's folding in 2012. Omaha added a semi-pro team in 2015 named the Omaha Stockmen. [2] The city received a women's team in the Legends Football League named the Omaha Heart in 2013. [3]
An early team in Omaha was the Luxus, who played with support from the Krug Brewery, and in 1915 played for the Amateur World Championship.
The Omaha Omahogs was a baseball team started in 1900 as part of the new Western League. Their name changed to the Omaha Indians in 1902. In 1904 the team was fielded as the Omaha Packers, and in 1906 as the Omaha Rourkes. They kept that name until 1921, when the name changed to the Omaha Buffaloes, which stuck until 1928 when it changed to the Omaha Crickets. In 1930 the team changed its name back to the Omaha Packers, and kept that name until 1935, when they moved to Council Bluffs and subsequently folded. A new team called the Omaha Robin Hoods formed in 1936, but moved to Rock Island, Illinois late in the year. The team reformed shortly thereafter as the Omaha Cardinals, remaining as such for several years.
In the 1940s, the African American players of the Omaha Rockets independent baseball team lived in North Omaha. The team played exhibition games against Negro league teams from across the U.S., and was the home of several important players. [4] [5]
The Omaha Storm Chasers are the city's current minor-league baseball team. They are the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Years | Team Name | League | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1879 | Omaha Green Stockings | Northwestern League | |
1888 | Omaha Lambs | Western Association | |
1892–1901 | Omaha Omahogs | Western League | |
1902–1903 | Omaha Indians | Western League | |
1904 | Omaha Rangers | Western League | |
1905–1920 | Omaha Rourkes | Western League | |
1921–1927 | Omaha Buffaloes | Western League | |
1928–1929 | Omaha Crickets | Western League | |
1930–1935 | Omaha Packers | Western League | |
1936 | Omaha Robin Hoods | Western League | |
1947–1959 | Omaha Cardinals | Western League | |
1961–62 | Omaha Dodgers | American Association | |
1969–1998 | Omaha Royals | American Association | |
1999–2001 | Omaha Golden Spikes | Pacific Coast League | |
2002–2010 | Omaha Royals | Pacific Coast League | |
2011– | Omaha Storm Chasers | Pacific Coast League |
Omaha has served as host city of the College World Series—the final rounds of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, since 1950, initially at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, but now at TD Ameritrade Park. In 2008, the NCAA reached a 25-year agreement with the local organizers to continue hosting the College World Series in Omaha through at least 2035. [7]
On May 1, 2019, the United Soccer League announced that Alliance Omaha Soccer Holdings, Omaha had been granted an expansion franchise in USL League One, beginning in 2020 and playing out of Werner Park. [8] The team's name was announced as Union Omaha on October 3, 2019. [9]
The team plans to build a 7,000-seat soccer-specific stadium on the north side of Downtown Omaha. The plans were announced in 2024 as part of a mixed-use development and entertainment district. [10] Long-term plans for Union Omaha include moving up to the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer, once the stadium opens in 2026. [11]
Ice hockey is a popular spectator sport in Omaha. One of the current Omaha-area teams is the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. The Lancers started out in 1986 at Hitchcock ice arena before moving the now-demolished Ak-Sar-Ben, moved to Council Bluffs and the Mid-America Center in 2002, and the Omaha Civic Auditorium between the 2009–10 and 2011–12 seasons. Since 2012, the Lancers have played at the Ralston Arena in suburban Ralston.
The University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey team plays their home games at Baxter Arena, which opened for the 2015–16 season. Founded in 1997 and joining the Central Collegiate Hockey Association 2 years later, the Mavericks enjoy a loyal and vocal fan base. They currently play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and made their first-ever appearance in the Frozen Four, the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I hockey tournament, in 2015.
The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. The Knights played their home games at the Civic Auditorium. Following the 2006–07 season the Knights were relocated to the Quad Cities due to mounting losses taken on by the Calgary organization, they were renamed the Quad City Flames and replaced the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League. [12] The franchise's attendance in the Quad Cities was lower [13] than it was in Omaha.
On February 9, 2013, at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, two hockey games took place as part of the Mutual of Omaha Battles on Ice. In game 1, the Lancers took on the Lincoln Stars, while in game 2, the Mavericks battled the University of North Dakota.
In 2006, Omaha Rollergirls played their first game at a roller rink called Skate Daze in Omaha. The team played there for years with two teams going head-to-head, the Victoria's Secret Service vs the Lowdown Lucys. The team began playing games at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs and was ranked 10th in the WFTDA Regional Ranking at season-end.
In 2012, the team played in the WFTDA "Landlocked Lace-Up" playoffs in Lincoln, NE. [14] The team's two star jammers, Ima Firestarter #53 and Anna Maniac #999 played hard and helped the team to finish in 7th place, not taking them to championships that year. [15]
In 2015, the Omaha Rollergirls hosted a part of WFTDA International Division 1 Playoffs at Ralston Arena, hosting top-level roller derby teams as they fought to qualify for the next round. In 2016, the team celebrated their 10th season. The Omaha Rollergirls began the 2016 season ranked 84th and finished at 74th out of over 400 teams worldwide.
In 2019, the Omaha Rollergirls rebranded to Omaha Roller Derby. [16]
On August 18, 2010, the MISL announced on August 18, 2010, that it is expanding into Omaha starting with the 2010–11 season. The team, called Omaha Vipers, played at the Civic Auditorium but folded after the season when they were unable to secure an arena lease for the following season.
Omaha City Football Club started in 2016 and continue to compete in the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) the third tier in the Major Arena Soccer League System. They also compete in Major League Futsal (MLF). The Kings now play in the MLIS.
Martin Burns operated a successful wrestling school in Omaha in the 1910s. [17] Joe Stecher, a wrestler from rural Nebraska, won national professional wrestling champion title in Omaha in 1915. The American Wrestling Association's Omaha version of their World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by promoters in and around the city from 1957 through 1964.
Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon, an early wrestling great, lived in Omaha until his death in 2013. Other wrestling figures, including Tony Osborne, Ted DiBiase, Paul "The Rapmaster" Neu, Sting and Baron von Raschke are originally from Omaha. The city is also notorious within the wrestling world for other reasons, including Chris Masters' 2005 claim that, "anywhere is better than Omaha, Nebraska", offering of $6000 for a plane ticket to anywhere else in the United States.
Omaha also hosted the WWE Judgment Day Pay-Per-View Event on May 18, 2008, which was held at the then-Qwest Center.
The Creighton Bluejays compete in a number of NCAA Division I sports. In July 2013, Creighton became an invited member of the Big East Conference after more than 35 years in the Missouri Valley Conference. The men's basketball team plays their home games at the CHI Health Center, while the women's basketball and volleyball teams play on campus at D. J. Sokol Arena. Their men's and women's soccer teams play their home games at Morrison Stadium.
The most popular team of the Creighton University athletic department is their men's basketball program. They have amassed 17 consecutive postseason appearances, including nine appearances in the NCAA tournament during that stretch. Overall, Creighton has 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
During the 2018–19 season, Creighton ranked 8th in all of NCAA Division I basketball in average home game attendance, averaging 15,980 per game. [20]
The Omaha Mavericks represent the University of Nebraska Omaha in NCAA Division I competition. They compete in the Summit League in all sports with the exception of ice hockey. The Mavericks hockey team became a charter member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2011, and left the Western Collegiate Hockey Association at the end of the 2012–13 season with NCHC play beginning the next season.
Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium was formerly home to the Omaha Royals, now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers. From 1950 to 2010, it also hosted the annual NCAA College World Series men's baseball tournament in mid-June. [21]
Downtown Omaha and the Near North Side is home to the CHI Health Center and Creighton University. [22]
Morrison Stadium is a 6,000-seat soccer-specific stadium located at 2500 California Plaza in the Near North Side neighborhood. The stadium is home to the Creighton Bluejays men's and women's soccer teams.
The Omaha Civic Auditorium arena, which closed in 2014, seated up to 9,300 people for sporting events. In the past, the arena was home to the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) ice hockey team, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights American Hockey League team, the NBA's Kansas City–Omaha Kings basketball team, the Omaha Beef indoor football team and the Omaha Lancers junior hockey team. The arena was the site of the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game in 1978 and 1981. It was also the site of the seventh WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996. The closure of the Auditorium temporarily left the Omaha area without a mid-sized indoor venue, a void filled with the October 2015 opening of UNO's Baxter Arena. [23] [24]
Today the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha hosts Creighton men's basketball and the Nebraska School Activities Association Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament annually. In 2008 the arena, then known as Qwest Center, hosted the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA tournament, WWE Judgment Day 2008 and the USA Swimming Summer Olympic Trials. The venue again hosted the Olympic swimming trials in 2012 and 2016 under its second name, CenturyLink Center Omaha. The facility also hosted UNO's ice hockey team, the Omaha Mavericks, before the opening of Baxter Arena. [23]
In 2009, the Creighton women's basketball and volleyball teams left the Civic Auditorium and moved back to campus with the opening of D. J. Sokol Arena.
Two new baseball parks opened in the Omaha area within days of each other in April 2011. On January 21, 2009 Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey along with others broke ground on the new Omaha Baseball Stadium, which would later be named TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. This stadium, located in downtown Omaha, has a permanent capacity of 24,000, with the capability of expansion to 35,000 with temporary seating. Since its opening, it has been home of the College World Series, and is also home to Creighton's baseball program. The Royals initially planned to move into this stadium, but eventually decided that it was too large for their needs. They instead chose to build a smaller stadium, ultimately named Werner Park, in the suburb of Papillion, which also houses select games for Omaha Mavericks baseball annually and will become the home of the Union Omaha soccer team in 2020. Following the 2010 season, the Royals changed their name to the Storm Chasers.
Ralston Arena opened in October 2012 in Ralston, a suburb of Omaha. It serves as the home of the Omaha Beef indoor football team, the Omaha Lancers junior hockey team, and was also home to Omaha Mavericks men's basketball from its opening through the 2014–15 season, after which that team moved into Baxter Arena. [25] The UNO women's team continued to play on campus at Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse, the former home of the men's team, until it also moved into Baxter Arena in 2015–16. [26] Sapp Fieldhouse continues to serve as a part-time home for Mavericks women's volleyball alongside Baxter Arena. [27]
Venue | Sport(s) | Location | Description | Opened | Closed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium | Baseball, Football | South 10th Street | The MiLB's baseball stadium. Host of the College World Series from 1950 to 2010, home of the Omaha Nighthawks UFL team in 2010. Home of the Omaha Royals from 1969-2010. Demolished in 2011 to accommodate expansion of the adjacent Henry Doorly Zoo. | 1948 | 2010 |
Morrison Stadium | Soccer | NoDo | 6,000 seat soccer stadium serving as the home ground for Creighton Bluejays soccer. | 2003 | |
Omaha Civic Auditorium | Basketball, football, hockey, volleyball | Downtown | Multi-purpose arena, concert hall, and convention centre. Notable users include the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Omaha Beef, and Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Demolished in 2014 after being replaced by the Qwest Center. | 1954 | 2014 |
CHI Health Center | Basketball, hockey, rodeo, swimming, wrestling | NoDo | Arena and convention center operated by MECA. Originally the Qwest Center; first renamed July 15, 2011, following the purchase of Qwest by CenturyLink. Received its current name on September 1, 2018, when a new naming deal with CHI Health took effect. Host of the 2008, 2012, and 2016 US Olympic Swimming Team Trials. Notable tenants include Creighton men's basketball and Omaha Mavericks hockey until 2015. | 2003 | |
D. J. Sokol Arena | Basketball, volleyball | Creighton campus | 2,500 seat arena on the Creighton campus. Home of Bluejays women's basketball and women's volleyball. Also used as a practice facility for other Cregihton teams, and occasionally hosts high school games. | 2009 | |
Charles Schwab Field Omaha | Baseball | NoDo | Baseball stadium purpose-built for the College World Series. Other tenants include the Creighton Baseball, and defunct football teams the Omaha Nighthawks and Omaha Mammoths. Originally called TD Ameritrade Park. | 2011 | |
Werner Park | Baseball, soccer | Papillion | Built for the Omaha Storm Chasers after the closure of Rosenblatt stadium. Added Union Omaha as a tenant in 2020. | 2011 | |
Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse | Basketball, volleyball | UNO north campus | 3,500 seat arena located on the University of Nebraska Omaha north campus, opened in 1950. Serves as a practice and occasional competition facility of many Mavericks teams. | 1950 | |
Liberty First Credit Union Arena | Basketball, football | Ralston | 4,000 seat arena located in the suburb of Ralston, and originally called The Ralston Arena. Home of the Omaha Lancers, Omaha Beef, and Omaha Rollergirls. | 2012 | |
Baxter Arena | Basketball, curling, hockey, volleyball | Midtown | Arena owned and operated by The University of Nebraska Omaha. Full-time home for Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey and men's and women's basketball, and part-time home for women's volleyball. Includes a second ice rink open to the public, and used as a hockey and curling practice facility. [23] | 2014 |
Omaha is home to numerous important historical and modern sports figures. They include:
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally known as the University of Omaha. Originally meant to provide a Christian-based education free from ecclesiastical control, the university served as a strong alternative to the city's many successful religiously-affiliated institutions.
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.
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky include amateur and professional sports in baseball, football, basketball, horse racing, horse shows, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The city of Louisville and the Louisville metropolitan area have a sporting history from the mid-19th century to the present day.
The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference.
The Kansas City metropolitan area has a long history of sports, which has included national championship teams and championship title events.
Portland, Oregon, United States, is home to three major league sports teams — the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association, the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, and the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. The city also hosts a wide variety of other sports and sporting events.
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".
The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in The Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
Evansville, Indiana is the home to two minor league professional sports teams and one amateur sports team. The city is also the home to two NCAA collegiate teams, and nine high schools that participate in the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Evansville is also the host to the annual Hoosier Nationals and Demolition City Roller Derby.
Charles Schwab Field Omaha is a ballpark in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the city-owned stadium replaced historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, which was about two miles (3 km) south. The diamond is aligned southeast at an approximate elevation of 1,010 feet (310 m) above sea level.
The Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey team, also called the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks and UNO Mavericks, is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Nebraska Omaha. The Mavericks are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play home games at Baxter Arena, an on-campus facility that opened in 2015. The Mavericks hockey program was started in 1997; the team has qualified for the NCAA tournament on four occasions, in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2021. During the 2015 tournament, the team made their first appearance in the tournament semifinals, branded by the NCAA as the Frozen Four. The Mavericks competed in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) between 1999 and 2010 before joining the WCHA for the 2010–11 season. The Mavericks joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference starting in the 2013–14 season along with fellow charter members Colorado College, the University of Denver, Miami University, the University of Minnesota Duluth, and the University of North Dakota, plus invited founding members St. Cloud State University and Western Michigan University.
Sports in San Diego includes major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. San Diego hosts one team of the major professional leagues, the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) begins play in 2025. The city is home to several universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I sports, most notably the San Diego State Aztecs. The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
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.
Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse is a 3,500-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1950 adjacent to Al F. Caniglia Field, the Fieldhouse has served as home to several of the school's sports teams, currently known as Omaha Mavericks; among them are men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and wrestling. It is also a practice facility for the Mavericks women's track and field program, although that team does not compete there. As of the 2015–16 school year, the only one of these teams that still plays there is the volleyball team, and it only serves as a part-time home. The first team to abandon Sapp Fieldhouse was the wrestling team, which was disbanded in 2011 as a prelude to the school's transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. The next team to leave was men's basketball, which moved off campus to Ralston Arena when it opened in 2012. The women's basketball team remained in the Fieldhouse through the 2014–15 season. With the opening of the on-campus Baxter Arena for the 2015–16 school year, both basketball teams will play there full-time, and the volleyball team will split its home schedule between the Fieldhouse and the new arena.
The 2013–14 Omaha Mavericks men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska at Omaha during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mavericks, led by ninth year head coach Derrin Hansen, played their home games at the Ralston Arena and were members of The Summit League. They finished the season 17–15, 5–9 in The Summit League play to finish in sixth place. As part of their transition from Division II to Division I, they were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, and thus The Summit League Tournament because its champion receives an NCAA Tournament bid. On March 11, 2014, it was announced that the Mavericks would play in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, hosting a first round game. This made the Mavericks the first men's basketball team to play in any postseason tournament while still in the transition process to Division I. They defeated North Dakota in the first round before losing in the second round to Murray State.
The city of Dallas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area are home to teams in six major sports: the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and Dallas Wings.
The 2014–15 Omaha Mavericks men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska Omaha during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mavericks, led by tenth year head coach Derrin Hansen, played their home games at the Ralston Arena and were members of The Summit League. As part of their transition from Division II to Division I, they were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, and thus The Summit League Tournament because its champion receives an NCAA Tournament bid. They finished the season 12–17, 5–11 in Summit League play to finish in 8th place.
Wichita, Kansas is home to several professional, amateur, and college sports teams.
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.
Diego Gutierrez is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Championship club Monterey Bay FC.