OMAHA — Beneath a backdrop of fireworks and blue smoke, Creighton University on Thursday opened a $24 million amphitheater and gathering space expected to bring new energy to the campus and Omaha’s urban core.
Dubbed “the Quad,” the roughly 250,000-square-foot quadrangular grassy area features a fountain plaza and picnic areas and also is referred to as the university’s “Central Park.”
It is among the largest physical reshapes of the private Jesuit university founded in 1878 — and is part of roughly $1 billion in total Creighton-led investment in downtown Omaha between 2015 and 2030. That includes public and private partnerships.
Creighton’s president, the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, was joined at the ribbon-cutting event by key donors and guests and said city officials have supported the university’s growth spurt…