LINCOLN, Neb.—With plans for a new Lincoln arena now on hold, so are plans for the 33-year-old Devaney Sports Center, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said.
Mayor Chris Beutler announced Tuesday that the economic downturn has led the city to delay a vote on financing for an arena on the west side of downtown.
The Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball teams plan to be tenants in the new building, if and when it’s built, Osborne said.
The Devaney Center has been Nebraska’s home since 1976 and needs to be refurbished, Osborne said. The degree of renovation depends on whether Lincoln builds an arena—which might not be known for a year or longer, he said.
There are no plans to demolish the Devaney Center, which will continue to be home to the swimming, track, wrestling and gymnastics programs even if a new arena is built.
Osborne said it would cost an estimated $10 million to make structural repairs and a few cosmetic changes to the Devaney.
If a new arena isn’t built, Osborne said, it would cost about $20 million to make the 13,000-seat Devaney a suitable modern-day basketball arena with preferred seating, skyboxes and other amenities.
Osborne said he would much prefer a new basketball arena.
“Devaney is a very serviceable building, but the new arena would seat 16,000 people,” he said, adding that he would expect a new building to spark a 15-percent increase in attendance.
No matter where the Huskers end up playing their games, Osborne said, the men’s and women’s basketball programs need of a practice facility.
Eight Big 12 schools are building or have built practice facilities since 2000. If the university were to build one, Osborne said, it would cost about $15 million for two practice courts, coaches’ offices, locker rooms and athletic medicine facilities.
Financing probably would come from private funds and revenue bonds, Osborne said.
“We won’t do anything until the administration tells us we can do it,” Osborne said, “but these are things we’ve been thinking about for some time because if we really want to be competitive in basketball, we’re going to have to do something. Our objective here is to really become competitive.”
The men’s team hasn’t finished higher than sixth in the Big 12 since tying for fifth in 1998-99, and it hasn’t won a regular-season conference championship since 1949-50 (Big Seven). The women’s team has finished higher than sixth in the Big 12 just once in the last eight years, and its only conference title came in 1987-88 (Big Eight).
The men’s and women’s team split time practicing in the Devaney Center and in Mabel Lee Hall. Some days both teams practice in the Devaney Center, but setting up times is difficult because of players’ class schedules and other arena events, Osborne said.
Osborne said he’s sure Nebraska’s behind-the-times facilities have worked against the Huskers in recruiting.
“Our teams are doing the best they can with what they have to work with,” Osborne said. “There are places in the country worse off than we are. If you really want to be competitive, you’ll have to do something that’s more attractive than we currently have.”
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