Union Omaha, in partnership with the City of Omaha, announced an agreement to develop a professional soccer stadium in North Downtown. If approved, groundbreaking could occur in 2026 with completion scheduled prior to the 2028 season.
The future stadium will house Union Omaha and a future women’s professional team and will anchor a 20-acre, mixed-use district with retail, dining, housing and green space northeast of 10th & Cuming Street.
Hines, a Houston-based real estate developer, would handle the adjacent private development, which would include up to 500 mixed-income residential units and commercial space.
The stadium and connected development will lie on a mostly unused site currently owned by Union Pacific directly east of Millwork Commons and north of Abbott Drive. Union Pacific uses part of the site to display specialty trains especially during the Men’s College World Series each June.
“This is huge for Omaha,” said Omaha Mayor John Ewing. “The stadium and surrounding district would offer another reason to live, work and play downtown, strengthening our urban core. It will be an engine for jobs, housing, entertainment and urban living. It demonstrates what’s possible when public and private partners share a vision for growth that benefits the entire community.”
The Omaha City Council must approve a land purchase agreement with Union Pacific Railroad and then a resolution permitting the city and Union Omaha to apply for turnback financing from the State of Nebraska. Subsequent approvals by the State of Nebraska and Omaha City Council will be required for financing.
The city would own the $114 million stadium. Union Omaha and an entity called, “Downtown Soccer Stadium, Inc.,” will lease the facility.
Several resolutions and ordinances will be reviewed by the City Council over the next few weeks related to this development. According to one ordinance, the city will purchase the land from Union Pacific for $18.7 million.
According to the related purchase agreement, Union Pacific will remove possibly hazardous materials that are located under the parking lot south of Charles Schwab Field, known as Lot B, if the city decides to develop it. As part of the CHI Health Center’s expansion and renovation project, the city and the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority leadership plan to add another convention hotel. Lot B is possible development site.
In a separate but related ordinance, Union Pacific will buy back the site of its previous headquarters building at 14th & Dodge Street from the city for $7.3 million. That property has remained vacant for nearly two decades despite different development proposals. The most recent plan was announced by Lanoha several years ago, which included a new skyscraper with office and hotel space. However, that plan fell through and the city re-acquired the site in December 2022 as part of land swap to develop the Central Library property for Mutual of Omaha’s new headquarters.
Years earlier, a Kanas City-based developer planned to build Wall Street Tower, a 32-story condo building. That plan failed during the 2008 financial crisis.
For its upcoming 2026 season, Union Omaha will play at Creighton University’s Morrison Stadium.
