North Omaha neighbors picked up markers and signed their names and messages onto steel construction beams this week, marking a milestone for a project more than a decade in the making: a real home stadium for Omaha North High School. The beams will be placed into both the future Gene R. Haynes Stadium and the new Butler-Gast YMCA, part of a joint development exceeding $50 million.
The beam-signing event comes nearly a year after an October 2025 groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium and YMCA, according to KMTV 3 News Now Omaha. The station reports the project is funded through local and private foundations and is expected to be completed by fall 2027, with the goal of supporting youth and public health programming in North Omaha.
Project organizers have described the undertaking, officially announced in April 2025 as Project Game ON, as being funded in part by a $2 million award from the North and South Omaha Recovery Grant program, administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, to the YMCA of Greater Omaha, with the broader project's remaining funding coming from local private foundations. The site at North 34th Avenue and Ames Avenue was deliberately chosen to revitalize the Ames Avenue corridor without relying on eminent domain or demolishing any residential homes, according to the same source.
A Stadium Decades Overdue
Despite winning eight state football championships since opening in 1924, Omaha North High School has never had an on-campus varsity competition stadium, per the same account from Project Game ON. Varsity teams have historically had to play home games at off-site district venues, a gap the new facility is finally set to close. Once the new stadium is complete, the school's existing athletic field will remain intact, serving as a dedicated practice field and home venue for the track and field team.
The push for a home stadium has deep roots among North High's own students. During the project's April 2025 announcement, former principal Gene Haynes recalled that North High students had presented him with a stadium proposal called “Leveling the Playing Field” more than a decade earlier, according to the Omaha Daily Record.
Honoring Gene Haynes's Legacy
The Omaha Public Schools Board of Education officially voted in July 2026 to name the new athletics facility the Gene R. Haynes Stadium in honor of the longtime educator, as reported by the Omaha World-Herald. Haynes served as principal of Omaha North High School from 2001 until his retirement in 2020, and KMTV 3 News Now Omaha notes he is remembered for the major role he played in North High's community as both a former principal and coach.
Haynes began his career with Omaha Public Schools in 1967 as a history teacher and went on to become the district's first African American head basketball coach at Omaha Technical High School before taking the helm at North High, according to the Great Plains Black History Museum. This is not the first civic honor bestowed on him — in October 2014, the Omaha City Council voted to rename a section of North 36th Street adjacent to the school as Gene R. Haynes Street, an effort spearheaded by two North High alumnae, per the Omaha North High School Foundation.
A New Home for the Butler-Gast YMCA
The project also replaces the aging Butler-Gast YMCA. The Butler-Gast name honors Black community leaders John R. Butler and Carol Gast, who were instrumental in expanding sports and recreational access for Black youth in North Omaha, according to Project Game ON.
The new YMCA building will span about 39,000 square feet and include an indoor pool, a gymnasium, exercise spaces, community rooms, and an indoor walking track, per KMTV 3 News Now Omaha. Rebecca Deterding, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha, described the new facility as a community hub for people of all ages, with organizers expecting the combined project to expand athletic and school engagement at North High while providing accessible health, wellness, and development opportunities throughout North Omaha.
Students Leave Their Mark
Among those signing beams this week were North High students who will graduate before the stadium opens but still wanted their names on the project. North High junior Michelle Fair wrote “All love here” on her beam, while junior Nayeli King said she is looking forward to seeing children and adults come together around the football field.
Taken together, organizers say the project fulfills a decade-long community and student push for equity in high school athletics while avoiding land acquisition conflicts along the Ames Avenue corridor, according to the YMCA of Greater Omaha. With beams now signed and set for placement, North Omaha moves one step closer to a stadium — and a YMCA — a century in the waiting.
