CHI Health Center Omaha
The CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) facility has an 18,975-seat arena, a 194,000 sq ft (18,000 m2) exhibition hall, and 62,000 sq ft (5,800 m2) of meeting space.
| CHI Health Center Omaha | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Omaha Arena and Convention Center (planning/construction) Qwest Center Omaha (2003–11) CenturyLink Center Omaha (2011–18) |
| Alternative names | CHI Health Center Omaha Convention Center and Arena |
| General information | |
| Location | Downtown Omaha |
| Address | 455 North 10th Street Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 41.263°N 95.928°W |
| Named for | CHI Health |
| Groundbreaking | March 1, 2001 |
| Opened | September 20, 2003 |
| Inaugurated | September 12, 2003 |
| Cost | $291 million ($482 million in 2023 dollars) |
| Owner | City of Omaha |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 1,118,300 square feet (103,890 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | DLR Group |
| Structural engineer | Thornton-Tomasetti Group |
| Services engineer | M–E Engineers, Inc. |
| Main contractor | Kiewit Construction Co. |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 18,320 (basketball) 17,100 (hockey) 18,975 (concert center-stage) 2,693 (Peter Kiewit Grand Ballroom) |
| Parking | 4,500 spaces |
| Public transit access | Metro Transit |
The complex opened on September 20, 2003 as Qwest Center Omaha, and adopted the name of CenturyLink Center Omaha on July 15, 2011, as part of a $22 billion buyout of Qwest by CenturyLink (formerly CenturyTel). In July 2018, CHI Health bought the naming rights to the arena under a 20-year agreement worth $23.6 million, and the arena was renamed CHI Health Center Omaha effective September 1, that year.
Just west of the Missouri River, the elevation at street level is approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level.
The arena hosts basketball and hockey games, professional wrestling events, concerts, and the annual shareholders' meeting of Omaha-based conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, usually held on the first Saturday of May.
The arena's primary tenant is the Creighton University men's basketball team. Through the 2014–15 NCAA ice hockey season, the Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey team, representing the University of Nebraska Omaha, was also a primary tenant, but the Mavericks moved to the new Baxter Arena effective with the 2015–16 season.