FORGED IN STEEL

Steelhouse Omaha Brings New Music To Omaha

The buzz has been building. As each girder and piece of steel cladding slides into place, the outline of Omaha’s newest live music venue has been coming into sharper relief downtown along 12th and Dodge streets. Steelhouse Omaha—its sleek, contemporary architecture a fitting complement to the Holland Performing Arts Center and recently refurbished Gene Leahy Mall—will be the place to hear musical acts that have typically bypassed Omaha for other cities.

“We need this kind of entertainment venue more than ever,” observed Joan Squires, president of Omaha Performing Arts (O-pa), which has been spearheading the project. “We are fortunate in Omaha to already have two worldclass venues. What we are missing in the community is a venue with a midsize capacity.”

What does that mean? Music acts not quite ready for stadium-size crowds bypass Omaha, heading instead to cities like Denver, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Kansas City. That’s a loss in revenue for Omaha and its business owners, but a loss, too, for music lovers, who otherwise have to travel out of state to catch their favorite acts. “Omaha is the perfect stopping point,” said Squires.

This new venue, which opens May 12, will be a be a boon for music lovers, whose targeted demographic is age 1845 across the income spectrum. Capacity is flexible from 1,500 to 3,000. The majority of concert attendees will be standing room only on the ground floor, while some 300 premium club seats will be situated on a balcony overlooking the performers. The premium experience will also include parking, special entry to bypass lines, lounge access at a private bar, and concierge ticketing.

Acoustics, of course, will be state-ofthe-art for both amplified and acoustic sound with extra care taken to insure that music doesn’t spill over onto the street. “Here you’ll hear incredibly well, and the building will contain the sound,” Squires said.

Part of the entertainment experience will also include food and drink. When enter-

Joan Squires

ing the facility, music lovers will encounter a “big, beautiful bar” in the lobby/lounge area, and upon entering the performance area, they have another three bars to choose from where they can also order food. An outdoor plaza will additionally provide space for outdoor performances during warmer weather.

Steelhouse will be managed by Omaha Performing Arts, and Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, will be the exclusive promoter for the live music venue. “We know this is a growing live music market, and Steelhouse Omaha will be a spectacular new venue for artists to play in Nebraska,“ said Jason Wright, president of Live Nation Midwest. “There is a lot of opportunity to bring more concerts to the city, and we really value the partnership with Omaha Performing Arts.”

Others have also valued partnering with the organization. Funding for the $104.1 million project came predominantly from private donors with $1.1 million from the City of Omaha. Project partners include Kiewit Building Group, Ennead Architects of New York City, and Holland Basham Architects of Omaha. “It really is an extraordinary testament to the generosity that’s here in Omaha and the understanding of what this building will mean to the city,” Squires observed.

That meaning will be profound. An impact study conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln projects that the annual economic impact of Steelhouse Omaha will result in $13 million in revenue for the city with an estimated attendance of 155,000 every year. For restaurants, hotels, bars, parking garages, and other businesses, the addition of the venue to the cityscape will be a boon.

In that regard, Squires notes that Steelhouse will have a transformational impact on not just Omaha, but also the regional music scene and will serve as a vital component of the redevelopment of downtown and the riverfront. “Where Steelhouse is located is really key,” Squires said. “It connects the Gene Leahy Mall and the riverfront to the Capitol District and the Old Market. It’s really exciting in terms of downtown’s revitalization.”

Squires said that future musical acts will be both national and international and run the genre gamut from R&B to hiphop. Bands will be announced one act at a time as they release their own tour dates so O-pa encourages people to sign up for email alerts, check the website, and to follow Steelhouse’s socials.

A two-week launch of celebratory activities begins on May 12 when the Killers, known for their critically acclaimed hits like “Mr. Brightside,” “Somebody Told Me,” and “All These Things That I’ve Done,” take to the Steelhouse stage. Tickets went on sale February 17 and sold out almost immediately.

“The Killers are considered one of the biggest artists of the 21st century, and we are excited to welcome them to open Steelhouse Omaha on May 12,” Squires said in the middle of February. “We wanted to present an incredible opening evening that will demonstrate how we’re adding to Omaha’s entertainment options. We’re grateful to our donors and the City of Omaha who contributed to build this fabulous venue, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to Steelhouse Omaha!”

Steelhouse won’t, however, just be about touring artists. It will serve as a true venue for the community. “In addition to live events and performances, there will also be opportunities for community organizations to utilize Steelhouse Omaha,“ Squires said. “It’s really a location for Omaha artists, too.” Indeed, the opening weekend festivities will include a community open house and family activities, which will showcase the venue’s community potential.

For Squires, the wait from concept drawings to the Killers will be well worth the wait.

“To see this come to life has been so exciting,” she enthused. “We are so delighted and hope the public will be as excited as we are. This really is transformative and fabulous for the community.”

For more information, visit SteelhouseOmaha.com