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.
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.
Basketball
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.
Cricket
In 1991, the Omaha Cricket Club was formed. N.P. Dodge Park has been home of the Omaha Cricket Club since 2001. It was founded by Jamaican community with help of the Indian Diaspora.
In 2010, the Cricket Association of Nebraska, a 501(c)4 non-profit organization was formed with their home ground at historic Freedom Park, Omaha. The Nebraska Cricket Club is the cricket-playing wing of CAN. Owing to the floods in 2012, they got their second field at the Hefflinger Park Cricket Field
In 2013, the University Of Nebraska Omaha Cricket Club was formed by the group of young cricket enthusiasts. The home ground for UNO Cricket club is the UNO Dome facility. The club has a history of representing the UNO at American College Cricket Nationals. As of 2019 July 31 the club is in inactive status.
The Cleveland White Autos vs. Omaha Luxus in 1915.
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.
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 third tier of American soccer, once the stadium opens in 2026.[11]
Hockey
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 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.
Roller Derby
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.
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).
Wrestling
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 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]
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.
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 Beefindoor 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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Notable athletes
Omaha is home to numerous important historical and modern sports figures. They include:
