Next month, UNO hopes to play in front of its first sellout crowd at Qwest Center Omaha.

Before this month is over, the school expects to start examining the results of a survey aimed at measuring public support behind the building of a new on-campus arena for Mavericks hockey.

That, in a nutshell, seems to sum up Trev Alberts’ approach since April, when he was hired as the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s athletic director. Alberts wants to work hard to ensure UNO is doing everything it can to be successful at its current hockey home. At the same time, he wants the school making just as big of an effort to explore every possible option for the future.

An electronic survey sent out on Monday — generated by the marketing company UNO has been working with in its ongoing facilities feasibility study — aims to gauge support among UNO “stakeholders and supporters” for a proposed new hockey arena and practice facility.

“I’ve always felt that you assess your current situation and also try to look at your options,” Alberts said in an interview on Monday. “Our intention all along, when we went down the path of trying to do a feasibility study and market analysis, was simply to see what the numbers say.”

Alberts said the survey is only one piece of a larger puzzle as UNO examines the future of its entire athletic department. Still, the language used in the survey offers some insight into what potentially could be on the horizon for the Mavericks.

“The new multi-use complex,” the survey reads, “would be the new home for the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team. The complex would have a capacity range of 7,000 to 8,000 seats plus a secondary ice sheet that can be used by the athletic department and other community and campus programs.

“This complex would have the capability of hosting concerts, consumer shows and other entertainment events in addition to athletics. The complex also could contain a multicourt indoor sports pavilion, athletic offices, medical services and other support amenities in a second phase project.”

The survey describes a number of different options for premium seating at the proposed facility — including private suites, loge boxes and terrace tables. It asks participants whether they support UNO’s plans to build a new hockey arena, and it aims to size up their interest in attending future Mavs hockey games.

The proposed arena, Alberts said, also could provide a new venue for Mavericks wrestling, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Still, it’s the issues surrounding UNO’s home arena for hockey that have been at or near the top of Alberts’ agenda since he took the job last spring. Former Mavericks coach Mike Kemp, now the school’s associate athletic director, also is heavily involved in the process.

In 2002-03, UNO’s last year playing at the Civic Auditorium, the school cleared nearly $1 million in profit from hockey. In contrast, UNO reported, the school’s only Division I program lost $150,000 in 2008-09 at the Qwest Center.

UNO has three years remaining on its lease to play at Qwest Center Omaha. Alberts, however, said no time frame has been established for when the proposed new arena would be built.

“The Qwest Center is absolutely one of the most remarkable facilities that I’ve ever stepped foot in. That being said, the question is simply whether or not we can afford to be there,” Alberts said.

“I don’t want to in any way paint a picture that we’re anti-Qwest or anti-MECA (the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority), because that’s inaccurate. But we must generate substantial revenue from our hockey program, or we simply cannot function as an athletic department.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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