KEARNEY, Neb. — Name a sports surface, pick nearly any sport and you can now experience it under one roof in Central Nebraska.

Luckily, it’s a pretty big roof. 

“There’s really nothing like this between Omaha and Denver, so it’s truly one of a kind in Central Nebraska,” SportsPlex Director Lauren Brandt said.

Kearney voters approved a 1% restaurant tax in 2021 to fund the $46 million Kearney SportsPlex. Brandt started as SportsPlex manager in 2023 and now is welcoming in the complex’s first users as director in 2025.

“There’s not enough words to express how meaningful it is to finally have the public in and be able to see and play throughout the building," Brandt said. "It’s just the culmination of so many people’s efforts and hard work and the vision that has come to life.”

The facility is 209,000 square feet. The gym is large enough for eight high school regulation basketball courts or 12 volleyball courts. A three-lane, 300-meter track overlooks it.

“Just the ability to kind of transform and immediately go across the hall and you can go from a field turf to a gymnasium, to a pickleball court to a running track,” Brandt said.

That range of options and sheer size make it unique. Brandt says those characteristics will help the SportsPlex to benefit the community in two ways: boosting the economy through events and providing locals with access to court and field space.

“When we look back in the next three to five years and just see what an impact this has had, not only for Kearney residents but for our nearby communities and then overall Nebraska as a whole, I think that’s what really makes it special,” Brandt said.

Previous Coverage: