Daily Vanguard

March 19th, 2008

Meet the Qwest Center

Step onto the Qwest Center arena floor and two things immediately become apparent: the arena is a particularly drab shade of gray, and it is most certainly meant to host college basketball games.

Built just under five years ago with a capacity of 17,250, Qwest is slightly smaller than the Rose Garden but feels far more intimate. It serves as home court for Creighton University of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The seats are divided into just two sections separated by luxury suites. The upper deck seats are steep and hover over the court, and there are plenty of good sightlines­­—even at the very top and elbows.For the few Portland State faithful making the trip, getting good seats shouldn’t be a problem. Athletic director Torre Chisholm said once the team made the tournament, the athletic department worked to secure seats close to the action.

Tomorrow, look for Vikings fans to be huddled in a group behind the Portland State bench. Chisholm said more than 100 Portland State supporters purchased tickets.

“Some of them are alums that live locally. We have some family members coming out and a good number of boosters coming from Portland,” Chisholm said.

Chisholm said the arena, also a large convention center, was “well done.”

“It feels very intimate for a 17,000 seat arena,” he said. “It’s nice. Any region you go to, you’re going to play in a nice facility.”

Chisholm thanked the Rose Garden for letting the team practice for the past few days before leaving for Omaha. He said it was important for them to practice in a facility similar to Qwest Center so they would be better acclimated. He also noted that the Big Sky Tournament, held at the Rose Garden, should help with the acclimation process.

“I think that will help us,” he said.

Qwest Arena facts
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Opened: Sept. 2003
Capacity: 17, 250
Luxury suites: 32
Club seats: 1,100

The floor can be transformed from a hockey rink to a basketball court in an hour
A six-story building could be placed inside the arena

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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