With the Arizona Coyotes franchise moving to Utah, plenty of discussions have been sparked about where NHL teams should be located. That coupled with what was a surprise for me personally, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stating during the All-Star break that Omaha, Nebraska, had expressed interest in getting an expansion team. That announcement has made me think about what potential Nebraska holds for an NHL franchise as a non-traditional market. There’s plenty of potential there, as Nebraska has a thriving sports community with hugely dedicated fans who love attending massive sporting events. However, to find that potential, you need to look at unconventional places first before passing final judgment on a location you don’t think will work. A huge plus for an NHL team here is the fact that there are no mainstream professional sports teams to compete with; it would just be hockey. To see the potential for success, you need to look at Nebraska’s love for volleyball, UNO hockey, USA Swim Trials, and the College World Series. 

Nebraska Volleyball:

Nebraska is THE volleyball state here in the US and worldwide. There is simply no comparison for the love affair that the state of Nebraska has with the sport of volleyball. And yes, I do say state because the passion and the love for volleyball doesn’t live just in the metro areas of Lincoln or Omaha. It exists everywhere. The biggest news that came out last year was Nebraska’s world record-setting volleyball match that was played in the University’s outdoor football stadium to the tune of a crowd size totaling 92,003 people. The stadium match was absolutely everywhere in the volleyball sphere, garnering both national and international news coverage within the sport while breaking the barrier and getting into mainstream news coverage. The ripple effect from this singular event was felt nationwide as college volleyball programs saw a big bump in crowd size. Teams were seeing record-high attendance numbers, with some teams selling out their arenas for the first time ever, and Nebraska sold out nearly every away match they went to. Even prior to the stadium match, Nebraska away matches drew larger crowds as there are fans all over the US, and with home matches impossible to get tickets to, fans jump at the chance to attend elsewhere. The stadium match was a once-in-a-lifetime type of event and a first of its kind. Named Volleyball Day in Nebraska, it served a couple of purposes. One was to celebrate the success volleyball has had in the state from high school and club level all the way up to D1 collegiate and let fans know that a brand new professional volleyball team, the Omaha Supernovas, was coming in early 2024, but I’ll get to the Supernovas in a moment. Memorial Stadium holds roughly 85,000 seats, and with standing room only, the total capacity was estimated at over 90,000. Demand for the event was so high that tickets sold out in just 48 hours in May, well before the August 30th date, and that was with no guarantee that the weather would cooperate. High demand isn’t unique for just the Stadium Match, Nebraska home matches have sold out for over 350 consecutive games with the sellout streak starting in 2001. Season ticket newel rates are between 98-100%, which led to the University moving Husker volleyball from the 4,000-seat Coliseum to the 8,000-seat Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013, and last year, they added 400 more seats to the Bob to up seating capacity to 8,400 plus standing room only, and it’s still sold out with a current wait list of around 1,700 people. The Huskers, since the move to the Bob, have led the nation in average attendance every single year and have been a part of 22 of the 35 highest-attended NCAA matches for both regular season and postseason. The success has been so large that ESPN is currently working on a documentary about the team that is set to be aired this fall, and The Big Ten Network did a documentary detailing the history of the Huskers to show how they went from a small team fighting for gym space to being able to sell out a football stadium. TV viewership also sees a noticeable bump when Nebraska plays, in 2021 The NCAA set a new TV viewership record of 1.16 million viewers with Nebraska/Wisconsin being the title match; those numbers dipped to around 770,000 in 2022 when the final was Louisville/Texas, only to then get bumped even higher in 2023 to a new record of around 1.6 million viewers when Nebraska was back in the title match, although this match was also on a more accessible TV network. In 2022, Nebraska had 13 of the 35 most-watched matches, four out of the top ten when factoring in postseason matches, and six out of the top ten when just looking at regular season matches. The Huskers’ 11 am Regional Final match that was scheduled for a Friday was the 35th most-watched match of the season that year. They’re juggernauts of the sport and have constantly pushed to make it better and get more exposure. Omaha hosted the NCAA Final Four for the first time ever in 2006, well into the success culture that had been developed. Former Head Coach Terry Pettit told the NCAA they’d be crazy not to put the Final Four in Omaha, and the city proved him right. In 2006, the Final Four sold out for the first time, with tickets being gone within hours of them going live and setting attendance records both nights. Since then, Omaha has hosted the Final Four five times, with 2008, 2015, 2020, and 2021 being the others. It is by far the most frequent host site, and each city following Omaha has aimed to try to outdo them. Attendance at the Final Four had only hit over 10,000 once prior to Omaha hosting, since then it’s only dipped below 10,000 once excluding the COVID year but the CHI Health Center was still sold out to allowed capacity. The Huskers have been instrumental in the growth of the sport, being the first ones to put volleyball on TV by using a state-wide TV station. Former head coach Terry Pettit scheduled volleyball matches after football games to draw in the football crowd. The Coliseum is located right next to Memorial Stadium and it was the perfect way to grow the in-house fanbase by inviting in sports fans to experience something new with free admission at the time. Innovation, persistence, patience, and vision have taken a relatively unknown sport and grown it into something amazing.

Players and coaches alike love coming and playing here. Don’t take my word for it, here’s what some coaches and players have to say about playing in Nebraska.

We are so excited to be coming back to Nebraska. Nebraska has a special place in our hearts. The 2017 season was a magical year and left a burning impression on us. Kristin and I have been all over the world, played or coached in every gym there is, and we can confidently say that there is no place like Nebraska. Being a part of Husker Nation is like nothing else in college sports. I can’t wait to coach in the Devaney Center again with a full house in matches that matter with our fans behind us. The fans are such a special part of this program.”

Tyler Hildebrand, former USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Gold Medalist Coach & former Nebraska Coach, 2020 interview

“Yea I mean I immediately knew when I signed even last year before I stepped foot in Nebraska that we would have a really incredible fanbase and they exceeded expectations throughout the year. I remember before our first match yaknow I was hearing ticket sales and season ticket holders and it went from 5,000, 6,000, 10,000 and when I heard that we had over 10,000 for our first match I’m like ‘wow that’s a really incredible number’ then you walk outside and you see all of the Supernovas fans excited and they’ve never seen any of us play together. So I think that just like sets the standard and just explains how incredible of a fanbase Nebraska has and just how much they love the sport of volleyball. There’s nowhere better to play in the world than the state of Nebraska.”

Brooke Nuneviller, Omaha Supernova, interview with Hurrdat on re-signing with the Novas.

“Another thing that I really love about Nebraska Omaha is just the fanbase, they’re incredible. It’s insane the dedication that they put in.”

Kaitlyn Hord, former Nebraska player, interview with Hurrdat on signing with the Supernovas.

Advertisement

On the ESPN documentary, Nebraska Head Coach John Cook had this to say, “They’ve been with us all year. They’re doing a documentary, so they’ve been in and out. They’ve been to a lot of hometowns. They were here in March for three days, and then they wanted to come out here (spring game) and see this because until you see it, you don’t believe it. They’re pretty blown away coming to a town like Kearney and seeing this turnout. It’ll be interesting to see how this all turns out. I don’t know how they’ll take all that and put it into a one or two-hour documentary.” – the Husker spring game in Kearney, Nebraska, sold out its 5,000 capacity in 45 minutes while only doing in-person transactions. 

With the success of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Omaha has attracted the attention of the brand new Pro Volleyball Federation league. When the name was revealed for the Omaha team, league & team ownership made it known that the goal was to have Omaha be the flagship franchise because if you want professional volleyball to be successful in the States, you have to have a team in Nebraska. With little to no marketing available, the Supernovas set three USA attendance records over the course of the first season. Housed in the CHI Health Center, opening night drew a crowd of 11,624 in the PVF’s very first match between the Supernovas and the Atlanta Vibe on January 24th. Omaha broke that record less than a month later on Feb. 18th in a match between the Novas and the Orlando Valkyries with a crowd of 11,918, and about a month after that, they set a third attendance record of 12,090 in a match once again against the Valkyries on March 16th. The Supernovas led not just the PVF in average attendance but led average attendance worldwide for professional volleyball at 9,656. The next closest professional team is Conegliano in Italy at 4,614. The Novas had nearly 135,000 fans attend one of fifteen home matches, seven out of the fifteen home matches had 10,000+ fans, and the lowest attended match was scheduled for the Friday of college graduation weekend and it still drew in 7,107 fans. The PVF championship was also hosted in Omaha for the inaugural season and drew 8,416 fans for the Thursday scheduled semi-finals and 10,678 for the championship on Saturday, and that’s with a Creighton Blue Jays baseball match being scheduled at the same time right across the street from the CHI. A secondary professional volleyball league is also currently in the works through LOVB, and they have also selected Omaha as a base for a team boasting a roster filled with former Nebraska players, including the likes of Olympians Jordan Larson & Justine Wong-Orantes, fan favorite Lauren Stivrins, and recent graduate Madi Kubik, that league isn’t set to get going until late 2024-2025.

University of Nebraska-Omaha Hockey:

While football and volleyball reign supreme at the main University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, just an hour up the road, the University of Nebraska-Omaha is quickly growing a thriving hockey fanbase. UNO hockey currently plays in the NCHC conference, which boasts teams like reigning National Champion Denver, North Dakota, and newcomer Arizona State. But what does the attendance look like? Well, UNO was fourth in the nation in average attendance for the second straight year at 7,043 in an arena with a 7,898 seating capacity. The teams above them were North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. UNO’s attendance put them ahead of places like Michigan, Boston University, Denver, and Quinnipiac, which consistently have teams ranked in the top 20. Prior to COVID, attendance was sitting in the 5,000-6,000 range during the 2010s. Since COVID there’s been a steady increase in attendance, 2021-2022 had an average attendance of 4,481, 2022-2023 saw attendance jump to 6,544, and then increase again in this last season to the 7,043 number. UNO is coming off one of their best seasons in school history, selling out their final five games at home, making it to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the first time in school history, making the Frozen Faceoff championship for the first time, and making the NCAA Tournament. UNO had wins over the no 2, no. 3, no. 4 (twice), no. 10 (twice), no. 11, and no. 14 (twice) teams. While they did lose in the NCHC championship, they lost to eventual national champions Denver so that’s nothing to be ashamed of. The hockey team also saw record numbers on social media in both engagement and followers, and it had a second straight year of record merchandise sales. Fans were eager to travel to St. Paul, MN, for the Frozen Faceoff and showed out, although I was unable to find attendance numbers for the Frozen Faceoff. UNO currently has six players in five different NHL development camps, including Tanner Ludtke, who’s at the brand new Utah team’s camp. The other players are in Vegas, Detroit, Ottawa, and St. Louis. UNO has also produced NHL talent, the most high-profile of which is Jake Guentzel, who recently signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Other current NHL alumni include Josh Archibald, who was an All-Star with Pittsburg, Jaycob Megna, who was with the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers this last season and played all 82 games during the 2022-2023 season, Jayson Megna who’s on a two-way contract with the Colorado franchise, and Nick Seeler is playing for the Flyers and signed a four-year extension to 2027. A surprising alumni I came across was Stanley Cup Champion Anthony Stolarz who had attended UNO on scholarship and ultimately opted to sign with the London Knights, dropping out of college completely, he played eight games for the Mavericks before deciding to leave. UNO also has alumni in the minors right now, with three players on the K.C. Mavericks who made the Kelly Cup Championship, one player on the Florida Everblades who won the Kelly Cup, and Mason Morelli who won the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears this season and also made his NHL Debut with the Las Vegas Golden Knights where he scored a goal and had an assist marking the first time in franchise history that a player had a multi-point debut game. Ty Mueller recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks, and Victor Mancini signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Rangers. UNO has also been invited to play in the Inaugural Cactus Cup out in Coachella Valley in January. The NCHC awarded former Head Coach Kemp the NCHC Distinguished Service Award for his work as an ambassador of college hockey and his work at UNO. 

Omaha has also attracted some high-talent transfer players from Alaska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northern Michigan.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to play at the University of Nebraska Omaha. After speaking with the coaches and learning more about the team, development, staff, and facilities, I thought it was an easy decision on where I would like to finish my collegiate career. I am excited to be able to play at Baxter Arena in front of the amazing fans and am looking forward to the great things to come next season.”

Aiden Gallacher, Northern Michigan Captain, transfer interview

 “It was clear that Omaha has something special going on and I appreciate the opportunity to get to be a part of it. From the coaching staff, to the players, to the fans, I’m impressed with everyone. I am looking forward to getting started.”

Garrett Pinoniemi, former Minnesota player, transfer interview

 “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to play at Omaha for my fifth year. The chance to develop under this coaching staff and play in front of the Baxter faithful is something I could not pass up. The top-notch facilities and resources available to us, along with a great locker room, is also something I’m very excited for.”

Sam Strange, Detroit Red Wings Draft Pick, transfer interview

“I chose Omaha because of the incredible opportunity it provides myself next season. The program has an amazing history of success as well as being able to move players to the next level. The entire organization is first class and getting the chance to play in the NCHC against the best competition is very exciting.”

Harrison Israels, two-time Alaska Captain, transfer interview

Advertisement

“Getting an opportunity to take my 5th year at Omaha is a dream come true. The world-class facilities, along with the incredible support from the community is an environment every college hockey player dreams of being in.”

Brady Risk, Alaska Alternate Captain, transfer interview

Olympic Swim Trials and the College World Series:

For four straight Olympics, Omaha was the home of the USA Olympic Swim Trials. USA Swimming was hesitant to move the Trials from Long Beach to Omaha in 2008, but the city proved them wrong with a huge fan turnout and sold-out sessions over the course of the weekend. USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey was on the SwimSwam podcast and noted that Omaha paved the way for the event to be held in a bigger venue in Indianapolis. The event was a huge success in Omaha, with each year getting better and bigger. Attendance was already high even in the first year, I can say as someone who attended in 2008, that there was a ton of excitement from the people who were there. Leading up to the trials, the community did a great job promoting the event in the area, especially with tickets being given away at swim meets to young swimmers competing during the weekend. 2016 was the most successful Trial to that point, with record-high sponsorships, attendance, participation, and financial impact. The Trials brought in $74 million to the city in 2016; the CWS, in comparison, brought in $50 million. Every session was sold out, and there was primetime TV coverage of the Semi-finals and Finals. Omaha was selected once again in 2021 for the COVID-delayed Olympics, with the strong relationship between the city and USA Swimming, community support, and engagement being the biggest factors in returning despite some top leadership in the Omaha side of things retiring; lower bowl tickets sold out within twenty minutes. Following the 2016 Trials before Omaha was announced as host for the next Olympics, Mike Watkins, a contributor to USA Swimming at the time, interviewed athletes and coaches about how they felt about the Trials returning to Omaha.

“From an athlete and coach perspective, repeating in Omaha is great. It maintains being special because we are only there once every four years and yet we are all familiar with the venue layout, hotels, eating, ect. We expect and GET a first-class operation.”

Coach Bruce Gemmell

“Omaha has been a great host for the past Olympic Trials. It’s a very sport-oriented town, also holding the NCAA CWS every year. I think the people of Omaha are genuinely excited to have such a big event held in their town; everyone I encountered was always excited to meet a swimmer and have a chance to follow their success.”

Kendyl Steward, member of the US National & 2015 World Champion Team

 “I loved the excitement with the fire lining the pool deck and the waterfall that spelled out our names and the loud crowd support that gave everyone so much support.”

2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Breeja Larson

“Omaha provides a sense of comfort for everyone attending the Trials. They have held very successful Trials three times now, and we can train with confidence that they will be putting on an amazing event. The city does an amazing job hosting use, especially with the CWS happening at the same time.”

 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Jessica Hardy

Advertisement

 Omaha is sad to see the event leave the area. When it was announced, Omaha Sports Commission spoke to local news outlet WOWT and said that they were disappointed in the news of it moving but that they’ve enjoyed a great sixteen-year relationship and were happy to see the growth the Trials experienced while in Omaha. WOWT also got a statement from Deb Ward, Executive Director of Visit Omaha, who said, “We can kind of understand that organizers at USA Swimming may want to move the event to a larger city in hopes of attracting an even larger audience. Having the US Olympic Swim Trials here in Omaha is even more proof that Omaha on a national stage does and can have the ability to host these large sporting events and make them even more successful than they were before.”

Moving into the baseball side of things now, the College World Series has lived in Omaha since 1950 and doesn’t look to be leaving anytime soon. The original Rosenblat stadium was meant to draw in minor league baseball, but things pivoted to getting the CWS when Rosenblat saw the CWS in Witchita, Kansas. Early success in Omaha came through attendance, and that attendance has only grown over the years, prompting the city to build a new stadium in the downtown area in 2011, currently named Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The downtown stadium has 24,000 seats and has a 35,000 capacity. From 2021-2023, each year, the attendance record for the CWS will be set at 392,946 for total attendance and 24,559 for average attendance. And those numbers are, with no Nebraska native team playing in any of those games, attendance numbers would likely sell out completely with the Nebraska Cornhuskers or Creighton Blue Jays making it. The 2024 total attendance numbers dipped slightly, but only because there was one less game played, and attendance for the CWS championship match was up from 2023. 2023 Game 1 boasted an attendance of 25,300, while 2024 Game 1 had 26,500 fans in attendance. Amy Hornocker, the Executive Director of CWS Omaha, said, “We had standing-room-only tickets for Saturday, and I’ve never seen a line that long in the time I’ve been working on this.”

Nebraska has a long history of strong fan support across multiple sports and being able to manage and run events on a national stage. Even an unmarketed VNL tournament that USA Volleyball was playing in, brought out around 8,000 fans in Lincoln in 2018. Realistically, the biggest thing a new NHL franchise would need to be successful is enough marketing to get the word out that the team exists. Nebraska has shown that at both the college level and for national events, there are plenty of smart people in the area who have been able to grow the popularity of multiple sports and events. There’s a big opportunity to grow the sport of hockey in the area and make new fans, and Nebraska fans pride themselves on being knowledgeable sports fans, so they’ll be eager to learn more about hockey and how it works. UNO hockey is a great entry point right now, and with the recent success of the team, it’s only growing in popularity with the Omaha locals. And that’s the other thing, a team located in either Omaha or the Gretna suburb puts the team only an hour away from the other large metro area of Lincoln and in reach of all the small towns in between. That’s giving the team a bigger reach than just one city, people travel between Lincoln and Omaha daily so it’s not that far for a fan to travel for a sporting event. Lord knows it happens every single Saturday during football season, with people pouring into Lincoln from all over the place. The NHL has an untapped market in Nebraska that could do great things for growing the game.