Tag: Omaha

College World Series Omaha Guide

The College World Series transforms Omaha into one of the most exciting sports destinations in the country each summer. Fans from across the United States and the world travel to Omaha for championship baseball, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment districts, arts venues, breweries, and local attractions throughout the city.

Whether you are visiting Omaha for the first time or returning for another year of the tournament, this guide will help you explore Omaha during the College World Series.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES IN OMAHA

The College World Series is one of the most recognized traditions in college baseball and one of the largest annual sporting events in Nebraska. Each summer, fans from across the country and the world travel to Omaha to watch the final teams compete for the national championship.

Omaha has hosted the College World Series since 1950 after local civic leaders worked to bring the tournament to the city. Over the decades, the event became deeply connected to Omaha’s identity and helped establish a national association between the city and college baseball.

Volunteer organizations, local businesses, civic leaders, and generations of fans helped shape the College World Series into one of Omaha’s most recognized annual traditions.

The tournament continues to draw visitors from across the country and world while helping shape Omaha’s national reputation as both a sports and tourism destination.

Games begin 12 June and the official schedule when available will be located here:
https://cwsomaha.com/sports/baseball/schedule/2025-26

QUICK NAVIGATION

About the College World Series in Omaha
About Charles Schwab Field Omaha
Old Market
Blackstone District
Midtown / Central Omaha
Aksarben Village
Capitol District
Millwork Commons
NoDo / North Downtown
Things To Do Between Games
Places To Watch Games
Classic Omaha Food Experiences
Breweries & Nightlife
From Our Interviews

ABOUT CHARLES SCHWAB FIELD OMAHA


Games are played at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in downtown Omaha near restaurants, nightlife, entertainment districts, and RiverFront attractions.

The stadium sits near several visitor areas including:
• Old Market
• Capitol District
• NoDo / North Downtown
• Millwork Commons
• RiverFront parks

The downtown location allows many visitors to explore restaurants, bars, attractions, arts venues, and entertainment districts before and after games.

OLD MARKET


The Old Market is one of Omaha’s most recognized visitor districts and becomes especially active during the College World Series.

Block 16
1611 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://block16omaha.com

Spaghetti Works
502 S 11th St
Omaha, NE 68102
402-422-0770
https://www.spagworks.com/spaghettiomaha

Upstream Brewing Company
514 S 11th St
Omaha, NE 68102
402-344-0200
https://upstreambrewing.com

Brickway Brewery & Distillery
1116 Jackson St
Omaha, NE 68102
402-933-2613
https://brickwaybrewery.com

Clio
1001 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.clioomaha.com

BLACKSTONE DISTRICT

Blackstone has become one of Omaha’s busiest dining and nightlife districts.

Crescent Moon
3578 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
402-345-1708
https://crescentmoon.com

The Berry & Rye
3355 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
https://berryandrye.com

Mula
3932 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
402-934-8734
https://mulamexican.com

Coneflower Creamery
3921 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
https://www.coneflowercreamery.com

Archetype Coffee
3926 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
https://archetype.coffee

MIDTOWN / CENTRAL OMAHA

Midtown Omaha includes restaurants, coffee shops, international cuisine, and locally owned businesses located between downtown Omaha and west-central neighborhoods.

Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant
4422 Cass St
Omaha, NE 68131
402-991-5662
https://www.lalibelaomaha.com

Lucy Ethiopian Coffee
421 N Saddle Creek Rd
Omaha, NE 68131
402-916-9427
https://www.facebook.com/lucyethcoffee/

AKSARBEN VILLAGE

Backlot Taphouse
2110 S 67th St Ste 108
Omaha, NE 68106
402-502-1917
https://backlottaphouse.com

Inner Rail Food Hall
1911 S 67th St
Omaha, NE 68106
https://theinnerrail.com

Grand Patisserie
2283 S 67th St
Omaha, NE 68106
https://www.facebook.com/Omahagrandpatisserie/
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-zied-allam-rafika-oudelha-grand-patisserie-an-omaha-french-bakery/

Blue & Fly Asian Kitchen
721 S 72nd St., Omaha, NE 68114
(402) 504-6545
https://www.blueflyasiankitchen.com
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-joe-kang-and-yi-san-owners-blue-and-fly-restaurant

CAPITOL DISTRICT

Let It Fly Sports Bar
1080 Capitol Ave
Omaha, NE 68102
https://letitflysportsbar.com/omaha

Texas de Brazil
1110 Capitol Ave
Omaha, NE 68102
402-783-1122
https://texasdebrazil.com/locations/omaha/

The Exchange
1101 Davenport St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://theexchangeomaha.com

MILLWORK COMMONS

Archetype Coffee
1229 Millwork Ave Suite 101
Omaha, NE 68102
https://drinkarchetype.com/pages/drop-by-say-hello
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-isaiah-sheese-of-archetype-coffee/

Coneflower Creamery
1229 Millwork Ave
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.coneflowercreamery.com
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-brian-langbehn-and-katie-arant-chapman-of-coneflower-creamery-part-one/

Hot Shops Art Center
1301 Nicholas St
Omaha, NE 68102
402-342-6452
https://hotshopsartcenter.org

NODO / NORTH DOWNTOWN

Slowdown
729 N 14th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://theslowdown.com

Steelhouse Omaha
1100 Dodge St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://steelhouseomaha.com

CHI Health Center Omaha
455 N 10th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://chihealthcenteromaha.com

Blatt Beer & Table
610 N 12th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.blattbeer.com

THINGS TO DO BETWEEN GAMES

Family Attractions

Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
3701 S 10th St
Omaha, NE 68107
402-733-8401
https://www.omahazoo.com

Luminarium
345 Riverfront Dr
Omaha, NE 68102
https://luminarium.org
Omaha Children’s Museum
500 S 20th St
Omaha, NE 68102
402-342-6164
https://ocm.org

Lauritzen Gardens
100 Bancroft St
Omaha, NE 68108
402-346-4002
https://lauritzengardens.org
Arts & Culture

Joslyn Art Museum
2200 Dodge St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://joslyn.org

KANEKO
1111 Jones St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://thekaneko.org

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
724 S 12th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://bemiscenter.org

The Durham Museum
801 S 10th St
Omaha, NE 68108
https://durhammuseum.org

Film Streams
1340 Mike Fahey St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://filmstreams.org

PLACES TO WATCH GAMES

This is just a few of the places to watch the games.

Blatt Beer & Table
610 N 12th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.blattbeer.com

Let It Fly Sports Bar
1080 Capitol Ave
Omaha, NE 68102
https://letitflysportsbar.com/omaha

Crescent Moon
3578 Farnam St
Omaha, NE 68131
402-345-1708
https://crescentmoon.com

CLASSIC OMAHA FOOD EXPERIENCES

Johnny’s Cafe
4702 S 27th St
Omaha, NE 68107
402-731-4774
https://johnnyscafe.com
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-kari-kawa-harding-of-johnnys-cafe/

BREWERIES & NIGHTLIFE

Benson Brewery
6059 Maple St
Omaha, NE 68104
402-934-2928
https://bensonbrewery.com

Vis Major Brewing Co.
3501 Center St
Omaha, NE 68105
https://vismajorbrewing.com

Mercury
329 S 16th St
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.mercuryloungeomaha.com

FROM OUR INTERVIEWS

“There are no bad days in Omaha.”
— Anthony Holman

“The College World Series is just growing in national profile.”
— Amy Hornocker

“The College World Series is something that I think Omahans love and can’t wait for every year.”
— Mayor Jean Stothert

“You will fall in love with Omaha.”
— Mayor John Ewing Jr.

The College World Series offers visitors the opportunity to experience not only championship baseball, but also Omaha’s neighborhoods, restaurants, nightlife, attractions, arts venues, museums, breweries, and local culture.This guide will continue expanding with updated recommendations, interviews, local coverage, and Omaha visitor resources leading into the 2026 tournament.

Please visit back and learn more about Omaha and the fun things to do here!

Did we miss something you enjoyed? Email us at info@omahanebraska.com and let us know!

Omaha Interview: Alec Woockman, the Executive Sous Chef at Levy Restaurants

Alec Woockman with a table in the foreground at Charles Schwab Field Omaha

Please tell us a little bit about your creations and your favorite ones. And I notice they’re very inspired by different ethnic cultures, which is a lot of fun this year.

Yeah, absolutely. We have, I think 12 new concessions items this year, which is a decent amount for us. It’s more than maybe in years prior. But yeah, we like to feature a lot of different flavors and a lot of different…you know, our favorite types of foods. So there’s some Middle Eastern items out there. There’s kind of some Mediterranean things with our gyro and our Mediterranean brat. We have some…definitely some southwestern flavors. That’s very normal for us… jalapeno jack cheese sauce everywhere and jalapenos and things like that. And then we definitely have some breakfast items this year that we’re…you know, we’re big fans of breakfast flavors. Bacon’s great, that type of thing. So we tried to include that in a couple items this year.

I would say my favorite items… probably the Walk-Off Burger, which is a burger that is nestled between French toast. It has bourbon, bacon, onion jam which has some maple in there as well. Cranberry compote, just to add some acidity and some sweetness. And like I said, it’s nestled between two pieces of French toast. So it kind of covers a lot of breakfast slots there.

One I feel like we need to touch on is the Stealing Home Colossal Pretzel. We love having shareable options that you can buy and feed a few people. Maybe, you know, you and a couple of kids and your friends? Whatever. So it’s a giant pretzel—I mean, probably 12 inches wide type of thing. And it has three different types of meat. So we have pork carnitas, chicken tinga, taco beef, cheese sauce, poblano crema, pico de gallo, so southwestern flavors, but just on a huge pretzel that is very shareable, very filling.

And I think I should touch on a hot dog. I mean, we got a lot of great hot dog options this year. We’re doing Footlong Frank and Bean Dog with baked beans on it, bacon bits, mustard BBQ sauce. And then we also have… in that Mediterranean kind of realm, we have a loaded brat with tzatziki, lettuce, tomato, feta cheese. Just have a nice fresh take on a brat. And then the Dinger Dog is a fun one as well. So that’s also more southwestern flavors. There’s avocado, poblano crema, lettuce, tomato, bacon, stuff like that.

So those are probably the ones that are my favorite this year. I can touch on any of them if you want more specifics, but those are the few that I could think of.

You told me before how you could share inspiration, but I always find it interesting. And then each year’s got to be just a little bit different.

Yeah. You know that that is the thing. Every year, there’s maybe one or two things that stick around from the previous year’s menu. And then this year we’ve got 12 new things. So it is a group effort. We have a group of chefs that all work together on these things. We couldn’t do it with just one person. It always helps to have a lot of minds thinking on it. And we have people from different cultures and backgrounds who have some great flavor profiles to work with, so… the Big Kahuna Burger’s got the Asian Hawaiian influence. And we’ve got, obviously, lots of southwestern flavors. But it’s really a group effort. It takes a lot of people to come up with these different types of…

 Of the returning ones, which one is your favorite?

Of the returning ones, I think everyone’s favorite is usually the Grounds Crew Tatch. That’s come back for years and years now, so that one’s great. The Nacho Omaha has been a big hit for a few years now. We’ve got like an Italian Meatball Slider and a Home Plate Box that’s been popular for us. So those are the big three, I would say, that are returning. Yeah.

 Thank you.

Omaha Interview: Anthony Holman, Vice President of Championships & Alliances at NCAA

 

Anthony Holman at the CWS Food Tasting

Please, tell us about the NCAA and ways that people aren’t thinking of it, because there’s so much hard work that goes on there.

Yeah. I think one of the comments I mentioned during the press conference was about the excitement that these young men will have. It’ll be reminiscent of when they played Little League, right? They’re still playing for their institutions, for their teammates, and that’s still important to them, so we just want to make sure that that’s not lost in some of the other news media that’s going on around name, image, and likeness to (?) as employees. What you’ll see over the next two weeks is young men playing for the love of the game, and that’s what we’re excited about.

I think the balance of all those things is rather difficult to achieve, so…

Yeah, it is. I think certainly there’ll be thousands of fans here watching and cheering for them, and should they reap some benefits from that? And I would say absolutely. And I think that’s the model that we’re moving to.

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came into your position.

Well, I’ve been at the National Office for 15 years now, all in Championships. Prior to that, I spent some time in professional sport and amateur athletics and high school association and the Olympic movement, so all in sport for over 25 years. But just working through various groups and departments and connections kind of afforded me an opportunity to join the NCAA 15 years ago.

What baseball memories would you like to share with us?

Oh yeah, so I was a baseball player growing up and loved the sport. It was my first love. I was a catcher and outfielder…really enjoyed the game. I really like the…it’s a team sport, but there’s an individual component. When you’re in the batter’s box trying to figure that out or a ball’s hit to you and how you have to make a play on that, and other people are relying on you. So I remember those lessons learned playing Little League, high school, collegiate league to understand and have kind of a connection with the young men who are playing now. So, but yeah, I could never have played at the level that these guys are playing at, so I’m a huge fan. I just really like to watch and enjoy their talent and their performance.

I think that’s really key and important, and I’m glad that you’re emphasizing the love of the sport and all of that. It’s hard to have that balance between running it and preserving it.

I really enjoy seeing you year after year and all your presentations, and I’m so happy that this is finally the year I was able to interview you. So thank you.

No, no. My pleasure, and thank you for your coverage and your support, for sure.

Thank you.

Omaha Event: Candidate Forums at Big Mama’s, 19 April

Black Men United, in conjunction with Big Mama’s Kitchen and Catering, is hosting its 9th annual candidate forums Wednesdays during the month of April.

Candidates for mayor and City Council districts 1, 2, and 3 are scheduled to speak, contingent on the outcome of the April 4 primary vote.

Come get to know your candidates and learn their positions on the issues. Forums run from noon-1:30 pm.

Big Mama’s Kitchen
3223 North 45th Street
Better Together Campus
Omaha, NE 68111