Creighton’s $24M ‘Central Park’ fuels downtown Omaha redevelopment

OMAHA — Beneath a backdrop of fireworks and blue smoke, Creighton University on Thursday opened a $24 million amphitheater and gathering space expected to bring new energy to the campus and Omaha’s urban core.

Dubbed “the Quad,” the roughly 250,000-square-foot quadrangular grassy area features a fountain plaza and picnic areas and also is referred to as the university’s “Central Park.”

It is among the largest physical reshapes of the private Jesuit university founded in 1878 — and is part of roughly $1 billion in total Creighton-led investment in downtown Omaha between 2015 and 2030. That includes public and private partnerships.

Creighton’s president, the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, was joined at the ribbon-cutting event by key donors and guests and said city officials have supported the university’s growth spurt.

“They know that this is an investment in the urban core and the way our city functions,” he said. 

Hendrickson said university leaders could have constructed a library or parking garage on the nearly 6-acre area at 22nd and Burt streets, which used to be baseball and softball fields that have been rebuilt in grander fashion on the east side of campus.

But he said they held off to create a “transformational” space. The Quad — surrounded by residence halls, the School of Dentistry building, Ahmanson Law Center and the Harper Center — is envisioned as the epicenter of campus activity and will host signature events such as graduations, alumni reunion weekends and freshman orientation.

$300M Creighton donor-funded plan aims to reshape part of downtown Omaha

Student surveys in recent years also have pointed to additional natural green space as a way the campus could be improved. The park project is entirely donor-funded.

Open for the public to stroll or visit, the nearly 200-tree park area comes as Creighton welcomed 8,948 students this fall, which the university said is an overall enrollment record. 

Other development continues on the downtown urban campus, including a 50,000-square-foot athletics facility for Creighton’s 300-plus student athletes. Set for completion next year, that facility is part of a nearly $300 million donor-funded initiative of 11 new or upgraded facilities and outdoor spaces across a 12-block corridor of downtown Omaha.