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Ahman Green hadn’t even taken his tour of the Kroc Center. He was simply standing in a spacious ballroom, near the main entrance.
But the former NFL veteran could confidently say that he and his new Omaha Nighthawk teammates shouldn’t have any complaints about their new home for day-to-day operations.
The moment Green drove up, he was impressed.
“I saw the football field, and I was like, ‘Whoa,’ ” said Green, the former Omaha Central standout who hadn’t visited the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center until Wednesday. He had similar reactions as he made his way around the complex.
According to Green, the $30 million community center, built on a patch of land once occupied by a South Omaha meatpacking plant, can accommodate a professional football team just as well as any complex he’s seen.
For the next two years, the Kroc Center will host the Nighthawks, who’ll conduct their training camp and fall practices at the facility and on its adjacent field.
The team will have its meetings in the center’s education center. A training table will take place in Fellowship Hall. The grass field, used for soccer games until now, will be the Nighthawks’ actual practice location.
Eventually, a 5,000-square-foot locker room will be added underneath an overhanging portion on the building’s south side, but that project is at least three months away from completion. So, until then, temporary locker rooms will be installed on one of complex’s three basketball courts.
“This is a state-of-the-art facility that rivals a lot of complexes in the National Football League,” Omaha General Manager Rick Mueller said during a press conference Wednesday. “We’re looking forward to this partnership, to being here on a daily basis.”
The UFL just awarded the Salvation Army a $25,000 gift in support of two new youth programs last month. They’ve created a fan club for children and a mentoring project for teenagers.
The newly formed league, in its second season, now has six total teams, though just five will complete in 2010. Omaha’s franchise was formed in April.
Since then, Nighthawk officials have been emphasizing the importance of making a commitment to the community. Omaha is the first UFL team to officially announce plans to practice in their host city.
Regarding Wednesday’s announcement, financial terms of the two organizations’ newly formed, two-year rental agreement of the Kroc Center have not been finalized, said Major Paul Smith, Salvation Army divisional commander.
But he’s anticipating that the Nighthawks will be around for some time.
“The partnership, it seems to be tailor-made,” Smith said. “(The Nighthawks are) providing opportunities for the young people to have exposure to positive role models. ... We really see that this is going to be a way to impact their lives.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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