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Qwest Center Omaha

Location	455 N 10th St Omaha, Nebraska, 68102-1151
Coordinates	41°15′45.60″N 95°55′41.54″W / 41.262667°N 95.9282056°W / 41.262667; -95.9282056
Broke ground	2001
Opened	September 2003
Expanded	2006
Owner	City of Omaha
Operator	Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction cost	USD $ 291 million
Capacity	18,300 (concerts) 17,560 (basketball) 16,680 (hockey)
Tenants
Creighton Bluejays (NCAA) (2003 – present) UNO Mavericks (NCAA) (2003 – present)

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".

Contents 1 History 2 Tenants 2.1 Attendance history 3 Records and milestones 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 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 2008 USA Swimming Summer Olympic Trials were hosted over eight days at the Qwest Center and on June 29th, 2009 it was announced the trials would return again in 2012. The 2008 event averaged more than 12,000 spectators each night. ^[1]

The Arena was home to the WWE Judgment Day 2008 pay-per-view, as well as other events from the WWE.

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.^[2]

[edit] Tenants

• Creighton Bluejays men's college basketball
• UNO Mavericks ice hockey
• Nebraska School Activities Association -- Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament

[edit] Attendance history

Top 10 Largest Home Crowds at Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton History
^{[citation needed]}

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Result	Date
1	17,954	Wichita State	W 68-56	Dec 28, 2008
2	17,607	Drexel	L 58-64	Feb 17, 2007
3	17,459	Southern Illinois	L 57-58	Jan 20, 2007
4	17,411	George Mason	W 76-63	Feb 21, 2009
5	17,371	Indiana State	W 86-69	Jan 19, 2008
6	17,263	Indiana State	W 71-55	Jan 27, 2007
7	17,193	Drake	L 62-74	Jan 24, 2009
8	17,116	Illinois State	W 74-70	Feb 28, 2009
9	17,110	Wichita State	W 71-54	Feb 24, 2007
10	17,053	#22 Drake	L 60-68	Jan 22, 2008

White Out vs Wichita St.

[edit] Records and milestones

The Qwest Center holds several NCAA attendance records, especially in college volleyball. Qwest Center owns the top three NCAA tournament attendance record. The highest attendance to ever watch a volleyball match in the United States occurred when 17,340 fans watched the 2008 NCAA National Semifinal match between Penn State and Nebraska. The second highest attendance in NCAA tournament history occurred when 17,209 fans watched Nebraska defeat Stanford for the 2006 NCAA championship. For the 2008 NCAA National Championship, 14,299 people watched Penn State defeat Stanford, the third highest attendance in NCAA tournament history and just two days after the Qwest Center broke the attendance record for the semifinals.^[3]

On the evening of December 28, 2008, the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in Nebraska occurred when 17,954 fans witnessed the game between Creighton University and Wichita State University.^{[citation needed]} This crowd was also the largest crowd to witness a Missouri Valley Conference regular season Men's basketball game.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Omaha Civic Auditorium
• Mid-America Center
• Rosenblatt Stadium
• Ak-Sar-Ben - (defunct)
• TD Ameritrade Park

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Qwest Center Omaha
• Qwest Center event tickets (Ticketmaster)

Preceded by Omaha Civic Auditorium	Home of Creighton Bluejays Men's Basketball 2003 – present	Succeeded by Current
Preceded by Omaha Civic Auditorium	Home of UNO Mavericks Men's Hockey 2003 – present	Succeeded by Current

v • d • e Current Basketball Venues in the Missouri Valley Conference Carver Arena (Bradley men) • Charles Koch Arena (Wichita State) • JQH Arena (Missouri State) • Hulman Center (Indiana State) • Knapp Center (Drake) • McLeod Center (Northern Iowa) • Omaha Civic Auditorium (Creighton women)  • Qwest Center Omaha (Creighton men) • Redbird Arena (Illinois State) • Roberts Stadium (Evansville) • Bradley Athletics Performance Center (Bradley women) • SIU Arena (Southern Illinois)

v • d • e Central Collegiate Hockey Association Alaska Nanooks (Carlson Center) • Bowling Green Falcons (BGSU Ice Arena) • Ferris State Bulldogs (Ewigleben Arena) • Lake Superior State Lakers (Taffy Abel Arena) • Miami RedHawks (Steve Cady Arena) • Michigan Wolverines (Yost Ice Arena) • Michigan State Spartans (Munn Ice Arena) • Nebraska Omaha Mavericks (Qwest Center Omaha) • Northern Michigan Wildcats (Berry Events Center) • Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Joyce Center Rink) • Ohio State Buckeyes (Value City Arena) • Western Michigan Broncos (Lawson Arena) NCAA • CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament (Champions) • Joe Louis Arena (conference tourney site)