OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Nebraska Omaha and Omaha Athletics officially dedicated Baxter Arena on Wednesday, welcoming donors, civic leaders, regents, university staff, coaches and student-athletes to the event.

The building at the intersection of 67th and Center Streets in mid-town Omaha will serve as the home for UNO hockey, men's and women's basketball and volleyball.

“The dream of Baxter Arena is now a reality, and it took a strong campus-community partnership to make it happen,” said UNO Chancellor John E. Christensen.  “The excitement of this moment is undeniable. The pride I feel, personally, as well as the pride I see in our students, faculty, staff and alumni is fueling the continuation of our Maverick momentum.  To the Omaha region I say, 'Welcome to our house.'"  

The dedication ceremony is the culmination of several years of planning, fundraising and design.  The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the program statement for what was then known as the UNO/Community Arena on March 15, 2013.  This allowed the project to move forward with fundraising and design of the building.  Fundraising for the arena was led by Heritage Services of Omaha and the University of Nebraska Foundation with HDR leading the design of the arena.  On June 3, 2015, it was announced that Baxter Auto had entered into a naming rights agreement with the university, officially naming the building Baxter Arena.

“This project is the end result of much hard work by a great many people, people who understand the value that athletics brings to our campus and what Baxter Arena can do for our department, the university and Omaha as a whole,” said Trev Alberts, Vice Chancellor of Athletics.  “We are grateful for the support and direction that we have received from so many community leaders and the Board of Regents in making Baxter Arena a reality.

“Today, we have a first class, state-of-the-art on-campus home for our hockey, basketball and volleyball teams, one that will greatly improve the student-athlete experience and provide a true home ice and home court advantage.”

The first steel for Baxter Arena was erected on April 17, 2014, and the building quickly took shape under the direction of Kiewit Building Group.  Baxter Arena will seat 7,898 fans for hockey and features two sheets of ice – the main competition sheet and a community sheet named Holland Ice in honor of major donor and long-time Omaha benefactor Dick Holland.  Both sheets of ice are standard North American dimensions of 200 feet by 85 feet.  As part of its seating capacity, Baxter Arena features 17 suites and 750 club seats.

Following the dedication ceremony, UNO Athletics hosted the Maverick Kickoff, the beginning of the department's The One Fund annual campaign.  Guests toured the main arena and watched a skills competition put on by the UNO hockey team.  This year, the chairs of The One Fund campaign are George and Anna Little.

Check out a quick clip of the skills competition courtesy of Ryan Henriksen of UNO's University Communications.

The first athletic event in the arena will be the UNO hockey team's home opener against Air Force on Friday, Oct. 23.