Sports in Omaha, Nebraska
The Cox Classic golf tournament was part of the second-level circuit now known as the Korn Ferry Tour from 1996 to 2013.
His revolutionary course "Conscious Evolution" inspired many American leaders in the fields of government, business, entertainment, law, athletics and medicine.
[2] The city received a women's team in the Legends Football League named the Omaha Heart in 2013.
A new team called the Omaha Robin Hoods formed in 1936, but moved to Rock Island, Illinois late in the year.
Omaha has served as host city of the College World Series—the final rounds of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, since 1950, initially at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, but now at TD Ameritrade Park.
In 2008, the NCAA reached a 25-year agreement with the local organizers to continue hosting the College World Series in Omaha through at least 2035.
[10] Long-term plans for Union Omaha include moving up to the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer, once the stadium opens in 2026.
The University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey team plays their home games at Baxter Arena, which opened for the 2015–16 season.
Founded in 1997 and joining the Central Collegiate Hockey Association 2 years later, the Mavericks enjoy a loyal and vocal fan base.
[17] Joe Stecher, a wrestler from rural Nebraska, won national professional wrestling champion title in Omaha in 1915.
Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon, an early wrestling great, lived in Omaha until his death in 2013.
Other wrestling figures, including Tony Osborne, Ted DiBiase, Paul "The Rapmaster" Neu, Sting and Baron von Raschke are originally from Omaha.
The city is also notorious within the wrestling world for other reasons, including Chris Masters' 2005 claim that, "anywhere is better than Omaha, Nebraska", offering of $6000 for a plane ticket to anywhere else in the United States.
Omaha also hosted the WWE Judgment Day Pay-Per-View Event on May 18, 2008, which was held at the then-Qwest Center.
From 1950 to 2010, it also hosted the annual NCAA College World Series men's baseball tournament in mid-June.
[21] Downtown Omaha and the Near North Side is home to the CHI Health Center and Creighton University.
The closure of the Auditorium temporarily left the Omaha area without a mid-sized indoor venue, a void filled with the October 2015 opening of UNO's Baxter Arena.
In 2008 the arena, then known as Qwest Center, hosted the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA tournament, WWE Judgment Day 2008 and the USA Swimming Summer Olympic Trials.
The facility also hosted UNO's ice hockey team, the Omaha Mavericks, before the opening of Baxter Arena.
[23] In 2009, the Creighton women's basketball and volleyball teams left the Civic Auditorium and moved back to campus with the opening of D. J. Sokol Arena.
This stadium, located in downtown Omaha, has a permanent capacity of 24,000, with the capability of expansion to 35,000 with temporary seating.
[26] Sapp Fieldhouse continues to serve as a part-time home for Mavericks women's volleyball alongside Baxter Arena.
