Creighton breaks ground on new baseball and softball fields
Creighton University has broken ground on a new baseball practice field and softball competition field.
The new baseball field — near Florence Boulevard and Cuming Street — will be completed by June 2026. In addition to being the home base for Creighton baseball practice, the all-turf field will serve as the principal location for teams preparing to compete in the NCAA Men’s College World Series. The 193,000-square-foot field’s design mimics that of Charles Schwab Field Omaha a few blocks east, to better orient visiting teams preparing to compete in the Greatest Show on Dirt.
The new softball competition field — near 20th and Cuming streets — will be completed this fall. Like the baseball field, the 79,000-square-foot complex will feature state-of-the-art turf across the entire playing field. The softball and baseball fields will also be available to students through Creighton intramural and club sports, as well as community baseball and softball events.
The new fields’ turf will allow practice to begin earlier in the spring, as the fields will be ready to use as soon as snow is cleared. The softball field will additionally update its current basic scoreboard to a state-of-the-art video board, along with expanded seating and enhanced dugouts.
The two ballfields will be funded by a combination of public and private support. The State of Nebraska’s Shovel-Ready Fund granted $30 million to support the CL and Rachel Werner Center for Health Sciences Education and the baseball and softball complex. The College World Series of Omaha, Inc., contributed an additional $2 million toward the baseball practice field.
The demolition of the Creighton Sports Complex — where the softball team had played its home games since 1988 — will make way for a new 5.7-acre campus quadrangle, west of the Harper Center.
Designing the baseball and softball fields are HDR Architects (designers of Charles Schwab Field Omaha) and Lempka Architects. In February 2025, the Omaha City Council approved the transfer of portions of Burt Street to Creighton University to allow for the construction of the baseball practice field, as well as a new pedestrian walkway and bicycling lanes through campus.
“The fields are a wonderful addition for Creighton students and student-athletes,” said the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, Creighton University president. “The new fields will welcome more of the community to Creighton. Our hope is that these fields, and all recent and future projects, will continue to bring Creighton and Omaha even closer together.”
The new baseball practice field continues Creighton’s 75-year legacy as the Men’s College World Series host institution. Since the first Omaha-hosted CWS in 1950, the University has provided sites, amenities and thousands of hours of Creighton Athletics staff time to support the event each year. This includes access to Creighton’s weight rooms, sports medicine facilities, batting cages, training rooms and coaching staff space.
Jack Diesing Jr., College World Series of Omaha, Inc., president and board chairman, said the new Creighton field and accompanying facilities will support the highest level of hosting standards for the teams who come to Omaha chasing the national title at the NCAA Men’s College World Series. Omaha is halfway through its 25-year contract as host of the CWS. Building a practice field closer to Charles Schwab Field Omaha, Diesing said, will help ensure the teams at the CWS are training and preparing in an environment worthy of the championship for which they are competing.
“Year after year, Creighton University is one of the most valuable players in hosting the event,” Diesing said. “With the new fields and changing campus, we are excited to continue this partnership and strengthen it further.”
In 2024, approximately 372,000 people attended the CWS. The 2024 series’ overall economic impact was $115 million, according to a study conducted by Visit Omaha and Tourism Economics. The event supported 22,429 jobs and over 75,000 hotel room nights, generating over $3.5 million in local taxes.
“We want to keep proving that, when you want to show the rest of the world what a great city Omaha is, Creighton is a great player to have on your team,” said Marcus Blossom, the University’s McCormick Endowed Athletic Director. “The new fields and continued improvements to athletic and recreational facilities will help us do that. They’re an investment in our student-athletes, as students and athletes, and, just as importantly, as members of the Omaha community. And that is going to allow us to compete with the best of the best on every level.”
Mark Kingston, Creighton baseball’s incoming head coach, said the baseball practice field will help the players strengthen their skills and improve the program’s results.
“Putting the practice field and training spaces in the same vicinity is going to make for a much better and more efficient experience for our players,” Kingston said. “The new all-turf field alone will be a huge benefit to us, allowing us to practice in all kinds of inclement weather.”
With competition starting in February, the Creighton baseball team rarely has the opportunity to practice on Creighton’s field before heading toward warmer temperatures in the west or south to play the first games of the season. The new field’s turf will allow the team to practice earlier in the year.
Krista Wood, head coach of Creighton softball, said the softball competition field will present several opportunities to improve the fan experience and develop student-athletes at a higher level.
“With the new field and stands, and the technology of the new video board, the atmosphere will be much more engaging and exciting,” Wood said.
The new softball field will also have a bigger dugout and a separate bullpen for the players. (In the current field, Creighton softball shares a bullpen with the visiting teams.)
“Creighton is unique because we are a smaller school that competes at a national level while also offering one of the best educations in the country,” Wood said. “We are able to give our student-athletes a great experience athletically and academically, which sets them up for life.”
The baseball and softball fields will take shape alongside other campus projects under construction, including a new sophomore residence hall and the aforementioned campus quadrangle. Recent campus additions include the freshman residence hall Graves Hall; the CL and Rachel Werner Center for Health Sciences Education; the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence. Other significant improvements include renovations to the St. John’s Fountain and Plaza, the Skutt Student Center and, currently, Creighton Hall.
The new baseball and softball fields will build upon the more than $500 million the University has invested in the city’s urban core since 2015.
“The fields and other recent announcements about academic facilities, housing and campus infrastructure improvements continue Creighton’s excellent track record of investing in Omaha,” Fr. Hendrickson said. “There is much more to come. We are not slowing down, and we are excited to work with the city to help shape the future of Omaha’s urban core.”
