Omaha residents will get a chance Tuesday to speak up on a proposed deal that would send up to $106.5 million in city money toward construction of a new downtown soccer stadium for Union Omaha. The public hearing, set for the Omaha City Council's October 20 meeting, covers a redevelopment agreement that would also have the city reimburse as much as $10.5 million for related public improvements.
The agreement, as described by KETV, would help pay for the stadium and redevelop nearby property northeast of 11th and Izard streets, an area better known to Omahans as part of the Millwork Commons district. The plan calls for far more than a single building: commercial and retail space, new housing, parking and infrastructure upgrades are all part of the package, with Union Omaha leasing and managing the city-owned facility once it's built.
A Deal Years in the Making
For Union Omaha, Tuesday's meeting is the latest step in a process that's been unfolding for years. Alexis Boulos, the club's chief operating officer, said the project has been in the works since 2021 and that representatives planned to attend the council meeting, per KETV's reporting. Boulos said Union Omaha is excited to move downtown and join the Millwork Commons community.
The club currently plays its home matches at Creighton University's Morrison Stadium in downtown Omaha, a arrangement that's been a stopgap while the new venue takes shape. The 2025 announcement from Union Omaha described the stadium as the anchor of a 20-acre district of retail, dining, housing and green space, with a groundbreaking planned for 2026 and an opening targeted for the 2028 season.
Costs and Capacity Still Murky
Exactly how big, and how expensive, the finished stadium will be depends on which account you read. The Omaha World-Herald has reported the city completed purchase of a 25-acre north downtown site for a proposed $140 million professional soccer stadium and other projects, according to Omaha World-Herald. Union Omaha itself has put the stadium's cost at an estimated $114 million, not including additional infrastructure expenses, while KETV has separately reported that the entire development would cost more than $316.5 million.
Seating capacity is similarly unsettled. KETV has reported the stadium would include 6,500 fixed seats plus roughly 1,000 berm and standing-room spots, while Grow Omaha has put the number at about 5,600 seats with room to expand to 7,000, per Grow Omaha. Grow Omaha also reports the redevelopment agreement calls for completion by the end of 2028, matching the timeline Union Omaha laid out when the project was first unveiled.
Jobs, Funding and a Bigger Financial Picture
Union Omaha estimates the finished stadium would create about 200 jobs and could host more than 100 additional events each year beyond soccer matches, according to KETV's earlier reporting on the project. The Nebraska Examiner has reported that the club would lease and manage the city-owned property once construction wraps, with one anticipated funding source being so-called turnback state sales tax revenue tied to the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act.
Under that state incentive, up to 70% of new state sales taxes generated within 600 yards of a sports facility can go toward paying off construction bonds, the Nebraska Examiner notes. Separately, Nebraska Public Media has reported that the City Council unanimously approved $48 million in tax-increment financing tied to the broader project, a figure distinct from the $106.5 million construction contribution and $10.5 million reimbursement now up for public comment.
How Omaha's Plan Stacks Up
Omaha isn't alone in chasing a downtown soccer venue built around a mixed-use neighborhood. In Detroit, the city council approved a community benefits agreement and an amended brownfield subsidy for Detroit City FC's stadium plan, a $198 million project that includes a $153 million, 15,000-capacity stadium, according to Sports Business Journal. Unlike Omaha's arrangement, Detroit City FC is privately financing construction while pursuing public subsidies and tax breaks worth a potential $88 million over 30 years, per Sports Business Journal.
Oklahoma City took a different route, approving a developer's donation of nine acres of downtown land for a city-owned stadium expected to cost $71 million and seat 12,300, surrounded by 33 acres of mixed-use development slated for completion in 2027, Sports Business Journal reported in a separate article. Each city has structured its public role differently, underscoring that there's no single template for how municipalities are backing the current wave of lower-division soccer stadiums.
For now, the immediate question in Omaha is narrower: whether the City Council moves forward with the redevelopment agreement after Tuesday's public hearing. The dossier of city and team statements lays out the broad strokes of financing, timeline and ambition, but the final shape of the deal, and whether it clears the council, remained to be seen as residents prepared to weigh in.
