Lincoln voters gave the green light to a financing plan for a proposed $17 million youth volleyball complex in Tuesday's election, with unofficial returns showing the measure passing comfortably. The vote clears the way for the city to tap state sales-tax turnback funds for the project, but officials are cautioning that approval alone does not mean the facility will actually get built.
Unofficial Tally Shows Solid Margin
According to KLIN, the unofficial count stood at 54,055 votes in favor and 45,325 against, putting support at roughly 54.4%. Nebraska Public Media reported a slightly different figure, putting the yes vote at 55%. KLIN also reported that voters supported a proposal allowing Lincoln to use state assistance for a planned volleyball sports complex, but the outlet stressed that the result should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the project's construction.
As reported by the Columbus Telegram, Lincoln voters approved a measure allowing the city to use a turnback tax to help finance the youth volleyball complex. The project is backed by the Nebraska Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act, which supports qualifying facilities through state sales-tax turnback, per the same outlet's reporting.
Eight Courts Planned, With Room To Grow
The facility, pegged at $17 million, is planned for 30th Street and Folkways Boulevard, according to Nebraska for Volleyball, the group behind the project. The organization says the complex would open with eight indoor courts and could eventually expand to 12. The push for a dedicated facility has been driven in part by overflow demand: Nebraska Examiner reports that Nebraska Elite Volleyball has grown to 51 teams and roughly 560 athletes, and that the club turned away more than 200 girls in one recent year for lack of space.
Exactly how much turnback-tax revenue will flow toward construction is a point of disagreement among reports. The Columbus Telegram's account, attributed to reporter Chris Dunker, put the figure at about $10 million in turnback taxes toward construction costs. Nebraska Public Media, however, reported that Nebraska for Volleyball estimated turnback taxes would cover closer to $12 million of the total construction cost. The remaining money is expected to come from private donations and sponsorships, Nebraska Public Media notes.
Disagreement Over How Far The Tax Reaches
Reports also diverge on the geographic reach of the turnback tax itself. The Columbus Telegram describes the mechanism as allowing Lincoln to capture a portion of state sales tax generated within a three-mile radius of the facility. Nebraska Public Media's account instead describes the eligible area as new development and project-generated sales within 600 yards of the facility. Neither figure has been reconciled in available reporting, and Hoodline is presenting both as reported.
A Nebraska Department of Revenue page on the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act states that this kind of state assistance, or turnback, could include up to 70% of state sales tax, though the publicly available excerpt of that page is incomplete and doesn't spell out further eligibility rules.
Economic Impact Estimates Vary Widely
Projections of the complex's economic payoff differ depending on the source and the time frame being measured. The Columbus Telegram reported the complex could generate up to $50 million in economic activity by the end of its first year of operation, then $2.5 million annually in the years after that. Visit Lincoln, cited by Nebraska Public Media, offered a different estimate: more than $51 million in total economic impact spanning the construction phase and first year combined, followed by $20 million to $25 million annually in subsequent years. Separately, the Nebraska Examiner reported that supporters have said the complex could generate about $22 million in total annual impact by its third year.
None of these projections represent a confirmed or realized outcome — they are estimates offered at different points by different parties, using different measurement periods.
Part Of A Broader State Program
Lincoln's volleyball complex is not the only project riding the state's turnback-tax incentive. The Nebraska Examiner reported that a state board led by Gov. Jim Pillen approved tax incentives for both the Lincoln volleyball facility and an Omaha soccer stadium earlier this year, while rejecting nine other proposals from groups and cities around Nebraska.
Project backers have said they hope to open the Lincoln complex in Fall 2028, according to Nebraska Public Media, though that remains a target date rather than a locked-in construction schedule. With Tuesday's vote now behind them, organizers still face the work of lining up the private donations and sponsorships needed to close the funding gap before any groundbreaking can happen.
