Baxter Arena

Baxter Arena
Construction

Location	Omaha, Nebraska
Coordinates	41°14′10″N 96°00′47″W / 41.236172°N 96.012940°W / 41.236172; -96.012940Coordinates: 41°14′10″N 96°00′47″W / 41.236172°N 96.012940°W / 41.236172; -96.012940
Owner	University of Nebraska Omaha
Operator	University of Nebraska Omaha
Capacity	7,898
Broke ground	2014
Opened	October 23, 2015^[1]
Construction cost	$88.1 million
Architect	HDR, Inc. (lead) Lempka + Edson (secondary)
General contractor	Kiewit Building Group^[2]
Tenants
Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey Omaha Mavericks men's basketball Omaha Mavericks women's basketball Omaha Mavericks women's volleyball

Baxter Arena (previously known under the working name UNO Community Arena) is the sports arena owned and operated by the University of Nebraska Omaha located in Omaha, Nebraska. Completed in 2015, Baxter Arena serves as the home of several of the university's sports teams, known as the Omaha Mavericks. The arena opened to the public on October 23, 2015 when the Mavericks men's ice hockey team hosted Air Force, winning 4–2.^[3]^[4]

Background

In 2012, Omaha mayor Jim Suttle announced that the Omaha Civic Auditorium would close in 2014 due to excessive maintenance costs.^[5] The closing of the Auditorium would leave the Omaha without a mid-sized indoor venue,^[5] and would also have a major impact on the Mavericks ice hockey team. While the team played its home games at the city's main indoor venue, CenturyLink Center Omaha, it regularly practiced at the Auditorium.^[6] It was already one of the few NCAA Division I hockey teams without a dedicated practice facility.^[5] Additionally, the CenturyLink Center was increasingly being seen as too large for the hockey program.^[6]

The university then began planning for a new arena, selecting a site at the Aksarben Village development, which has become integrated with the UNO campus in recent years.^[2] The arena received approval from the University of Nebraska Board of Regents on March 15, 2013.^[6] It was originally budgeted at $75 million,^[6] but the final cost came in at $81.6 million.^[2] Nearly half of the cost was expected to be covered by donations, and UNO announced in June 2015 that it had sold the naming rights to Baxter Auto, a group of auto dealerships in Omaha and the surrounding region, for $400,000 per year over 10 years.^[2]^[7]

The arena is expected to more than cover its required debt service. UNO's financial projections assumed that the arena would host only four non-university events per year. However, the venue will be available to lease for events that would have been hosted by the Auditorium before its closure. At least three area school districts, including the Omaha city district, are planning to move their high school graduations to the arena by 2016.^[2]

The new arena is also the full-time home to the Omaha men's and women's basketball teams and a secondary home for the women's volleyball team from its opening. The volleyball team played its first game in the arena near the end of the 2015 season on November 1, and also played its final home game of the season there on November 10.^[8] Both basketball teams will play their entire 2015–16 home schedules at the arena.^[9]^[10]

Features

Baxter Arena opening ceremonies, October 2015

The arena currently has a fixed seat capacity of 7,898. It has 17 luxury suites, 750 club seats, and a 750-seat student section. It also has two separate ice sheets—one in the main arena for games, and a second that serves as a dedicated practice facility for the Mavericks. Unlike most venues of this type, the practice rink is the most visible to those entering through the main gate—according to Mavericks athletic director Trev Alberts, "This will probably be the first and only arena you’ll see where the focal point of the entire arena is the community ice." UNO has committed to provide at least a third of the venue's ice time for community purposes.^[2]

References

↑ Cordes, Henry J. (February 3, 2015). "October 2015 Opening of UNO Arena to Be a 'Moment of Pride'". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Burbach, Christopher (October 6, 2014). "UNO's Rising Arena, Finances Both Solid". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
↑ "Mavericks, Baxter Share Spotlight in 4-2 Win" (Press release). Omaha Athletics. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
↑ Taylor, Jackson. "UNO triumphs over Air Force in first ever game at Baxter Arena". The Gateway (October 27, 2015). University of Nebraska Omaha. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
1 2 3 "UNO Community Arena". University of Nebraska Omaha. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
1 2 3 4 "Nebraska Regents Approves Plan for new UNO Arena". College Hockey News. March 15, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
↑ "UNO's new athletic arena gets a name". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
↑ "Mavs Unveil 2015 Volleyball Schedule, Ticket Plans" (Press release). Omaha Athletics. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
↑ "Omaha Releases 2015-16 Men's Basketball Schedule" (Press release). Omaha Athletics. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
↑ "Omaha Women's Basketball Schedule Released for 2015-16" (Press release). Omaha Athletics. July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.

External links

University of Nebraska Omaha: Baxter Arena

Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey

Venues	Omaha Civic Auditorium (1997–2003) CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003–2015) Baxter Arena (2015–present)

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Frozen Four appearances in italics

Omaha Mavericks men's basketball

Venues	Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse (1979–2012) Ralston Arena (2012–2015) Baxter Arena (2015–present)

Culture & lore	History

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

University of Nebraska Omaha

Facilities	Al F. Caniglia Field Baxter Arena Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library Eugene C. Eppley Administration Building HPER Biomechanics Laboratory Kountze Place Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse Peter Kiewit Institute Firefly supercomputer Redick Mansion

Athletics	Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's ice hockey

Media	Journal of Religion and Film KVNO The Nebraska Review

National Collegiate Hockey Conference

Teams	Colorado College Tigers Denver Pioneers Miami RedHawks Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs North Dakota Fighting Hawks Omaha Mavericks St. Cloud State Huskies Western Michigan Broncos

Venues	Broadmoor World Arena (Colorado College) Magness Arena (Denver) Steve Cady Arena (Miami) AMSOIL Arena (Minnesota–Duluth) Ralph Engelstad Arena (North Dakota) Baxter Arena (Omaha) Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (St. Cloud State) Lawson Arena (Western Michigan)

Basketball arenas of the Summit League

Magness Arena (Denver) Hilliard Gates Sports Center (IPFW) Indiana Farmers Coliseum (IUPUI) Bison Sports Arena (North Dakota State) Baxter Arena (Omaha) Mabee Center (Oral Roberts) DakotaDome (South Dakota) Frost Arena (South Dakota State) Western Hall (Western Illinois)

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Baxter Arena

Background

Features

See also

References

External links