The basketball court at CHI Health Center is about to become something more than a playing surface. Starting Monday, when Creighton's men's basketball team opens its season at home against Kansas City, the Omaha arena will debut a new floor projection-mapping system that organizers say is the first of its kind in Nebraska.
According to KETV, the system includes four projectors positioned across the court, capable of turning the hardwood itself into a kind of monitor. The projectors are designed to sync with the arena's other display systems, and the Creighton Bluejays have already prepared special effects to roll out alongside the new technology. The station reports the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority unveiled the system Thursday, ahead of its Monday night debut during the Bluejays' home opener against the Kansas City Roos, a matchup confirmed on the Kansas City athletics website, kcroos.com.
MECA CEO Adam Straight is the authority's chief executive, and he said the possibilities for the new system are endless, per the station's report. That enthusiasm tracks with what the authority's board recorded months earlier: MECA approved an agreement with Quince Imaging Inc. for the floor projection-mapping system at its June 30 board meeting, according to the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority board minutes. Those minutes state the arena projection system will significantly enhance the game-day experience and help keep CHI Health Center Omaha competitive.
A Technology Still Rare in the Midwest
The board minutes also noted that the projection technology was, at the time of the June vote, currently offered in only a limited number of venues in the Midwest. That scarcity helps explain why MECA framed the investment as a competitive move rather than a routine upgrade.
Quince Imaging, the company MECA contracted for the Omaha installation, has a track record in sports venues elsewhere. The firm pioneered the use of real-time rendering and projection technology in many of the U.S. professional sports leagues, according to AVNetwork. In December 2022, the company helped the University of Tulsa debut a college-athletics projection-mapping setup that used four Christie Digital D4K40 laser projectors, PIXERA media servers, BlackTrax tracking and CUE Audio integration, the trade publication reported. That Tulsa installation even included a custom paddle-ball game projected onto the court, letting fans interact directly with the floor.
Mizzou's Projection Court Offers a Preview
Quince Imaging has also led similar work at Mizzou Arena, where the company handled the design, installation and content creation for an on-court 3D projection-mapping system installed during a comprehensive renovation, AVNetwork reported. That system runs on four Christie Griffyn 4K35-RGB pure laser projectors, each rated at 36,500 lumens, paired with Christie Mystique–Pro Venue Edition camera-based software for alignment and recalibration. Mizzou Athletics has said its fan experience will only continue to advance as the program enhances its capabilities and grows its content inventory, per the outlet's reporting.
It remains unclear whether CHI Health Center's new system will carry the same specifications as those installations, since no source has detailed the exact number, brand or brightness of the Omaha projectors beyond the four units described by KETV. What is documented is that the move fits a pattern of investment at the arena, which the station reports has completed a major upgrade heading into the new system's unveiling.
Part of a Broader Arena Overhaul
The projection system follows a significant video overhaul that CHI Health Center rolled out ahead of the 2025 fall sports season. The venue selected Daktronics to design, manufacture and install 37 LED displays throughout the building, according to Daktronics. That work included a new center-hung scoreboard configuration that was the first to feature 2.5-millimeter pixel spacing on every display, the company said.
The scale of that earlier upgrade was substantial. CHI Health Center's own announcement, posted on its website, described the scoreboard overhaul as including more than 34.8 million pixels and 2,344 square feet of wraparound video display, calling it a $6.5 million improvement, according to CHI Arena & Convention Center. The arena, which seats 18,320 and serves as the home of Creighton men's basketball per Daktronics, has now layered a floor-based system on top of that video infrastructure heading into Monday's tipoff.
For Creighton fans filing into Monday's opener, the most visible change will be underfoot rather than overhead. The new floor display and the Bluejays' prepared effects are set to debut during the Nov. 2 game against Kansas City.
