Union Omaha wants to build a new football stadium
OMAHA, Nebraska (Nebraska) — Omaha’s professional football team is looking to build a new downtown stadium, and a bill in the Nebraska Legislature could help them pay for it.
For the last few years, Union Omaha has been looking to build their own stadium.
“You know Union Omaha is playing in a baseball stadium right now,” said Union Omaha President Marty Cordaro.
Cordaro says Werner Park has been a big asset at home.
“From a football point of view, Werner Park was fantastic. From a business standpoint, it’s different.”
But a new stadium dedicated to football will help them expand and grow, he says.
“It’s not just about Union Omaha. We want to add a women’s team, we want to open a youth academy so players stay here so they don’t have to go to Denver, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City for elite training.”
The estimated cost to build the new 10,000-seat stadium is around $100 million.
The feasibility study shows that it is best suited north of the city centre. Now, Union Omaha is hoping Nebraska senators will release $50 million from the state’s cash reserve to make that happen.
“Polls show that among young people across the country and around the world, football is certainly very popular,” said Senator Mike McDonnell of Omaha.
McDonnell introduced the LB621, which will bring in $50 million. If the law passes, Union Omaha will have to match this $50 million grant.
McDonnell says the investment will be easy for several reasons.
“We want to keep and hire people, especially young people, to come to our state and our city and other places for entertainment. And we think it’s a good investment because the numbers show that the projections of the people who will take advantage of this and the income it can generate will indeed be positive for our state and our city.”
The project will create 225 new jobs at the construction site, and after its completion, the stadium will employ about 200 people.
The stadium could also host social events and other field sports.
“We are optimistic that people will look at us as something more than a football team, because it is something more, it is a multifunctional building that the community and the state can be proud of and use.”
The bill was presented to the committee on Monday. Senator McDonnell told 6 News he hoped it would reach an audience.
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