College volleyball's Final Four alone would have required an all-in, dig-deep effort from organizers in Omaha.
But then the NCAA began hinting that the entire NCAA Tournament would pull 48 teams into one city.
Seems like a daunting assignment, right?
Deborah Ward had a different reaction.
"We were like, 'Bring it on,'" said Ward, who is interim executive president at Visit Omaha.
Ready or not, the NCAA Tournament will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday at CHI Health Center Omaha. Every match will take place under one roof. The first three rounds will be played in the convention center space before the Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship matches move to the main arena floor.
Between the facility setup and the limitations on spectators and team personnel, it's an unorthodox setup for sure.
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But Ward, who has watched Omaha host big events before, senses a familiar buzz.
"It goes from empty streets (last year during a pandemic) to excitement in the city, really," she said. "When you walk around down there this weekend, you start to feel vibrancy coming back.
"It just feels normal again."
Normal was welcomed Monday night when many teams began checking in. And normal will especially be welcomed by hotels, restaurants and businesses over the next 11 days.
Hotels in Omaha had occupancy rates of 18% at this time last year as the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early stages and the country was at near-lockdown. With 48 teams in town (each team limited to 27 people) staying at eight downtown hotels, a limited number of fans (which will increase in the later rounds) and NCAA staff, occupancy rates at hotels will be closer to 70-75%, Ward says.
Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority, which runs CHI Health Center Omaha, embraced the challenge, too, when it learned the entire tournament was coming to its building. The setup of eight practice courts and four match courts began late last week.
"It’s probably safe to say that with an event like this, anybody would have liked to have months to set up, months to plan, months to coordinate," said Kristyna Engdahl, director of communications for MECA. "Instead, this is coming together in a matter of weeks. So I think time has been a challenge.
"Having the benefit and the knowledge of the NCAA in town to help coordinate those efforts definitely makes a world of difference."
Tickets had previously gone on sale for the Final Four, which was originally set for December in Omaha before the pandemic delayed the season. That led to another challenge for MECA — refunding and reselling tickets.
Fans will be allowed to filter into the arena at 25% capacity when the tournament reaches the Elite Eight round. The Final Four and national championship matches are sold out, but a limited number of tickets remained for the Elite Eight matches as of Monday afternoon.
Crowd noise and matches taking place in an arena setting will provide another sense of normalcy for a city that was crippled after it lost out on all and potential revenue from the first two rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the U.S. Olympic swim trials and College World Series in 2020.
Omaha will have a chance to make up some of that pie with the volleyball tournament, swim trials and CWS all upcoming.
Even in a limited capacity, the NCAA volleyball tournament will be a nice revenue-maker for the city. Ward said the tournament is expected to have an economic push of $18 million. That comes after the city pulled in $13 million from hosting five large club volleyball tournaments in January, February and March.
And what better way to do it than hosting a sport that has a lot of passionate fans in the backyard?
"Not only will Nebraska get to watch their favorite teams, but the city and the state will reap the economic benefits, so we’re very excited," Ward said. "We were excited for the Final Four, we’re even more excited for all 48 teams to come in."
The NCAA volleyball tournament received some backlash last week when facility and broadcasting issues and limitations became public. The NCAA is hoping those have been addressed enough to meet the needs of the teams.
In the meantime, Omaha is ready to show, four teams or 48, that it can host big events with the best of them. CHI Health Center will serve up 47 matches in 11 days.
"I don’t think it was lost on us what opportunity was in front of us," Engdahl said. "The fact that Omaha has such an ideal setup that our convention center and arena are connected, which means of course that you can fit more events under one roof.
"There’s a level of, I think, confidence, cautious optimism, maybe especially as we get into these first days where we get an opportunity to look what’s working, what maybe needs to be readdressed. But I think as we are setting up today, we certainly feel confident (that) there may be lesser people in here, but certainly, the energy is going to feel the same."
Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.
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