NCAA to keep CWS in Omaha for 25 years

Omaha officials were hoping a new stadium would encourage the NCAA would keep the College World Series in town for 20 years.

They were wrong -- and they couldn't be any happier about it.

Tuesday afternoon, the College World Series of Omaha Inc. organization announced it had reached an agreement with the NCAA that will keep the college baseball tournament in Omaha through 2035. The 25-year deal is longer than what was expected when a memorandum of agreement between the two sides was signed last week. That agreement stated that the College World Series would stay in Omaha for 20 years.

Under the agreement, the lion's share of the revenue generated by the two-week tournament will take care of the city's projected $140 million stadium construction debt. The remaining funds will go to stadium operation expenses and upkeep, reserve funding for stadium expenses and the NCAA.

The Omaha World-Herald reported that the stadium should bring in about $16 million in 2011, the first year the stadium would be used. Of that revenue, $6.5 million would go to construction debt, $5 million would go to the NCAA and another $3.5 million would go to operating expenses. The remaining $1 million would be split between the city and NCAA, with the NCAA receiving 80 percent.

Currently, the NCAA is under contract to hold the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium through 2010. Under the current deal, the NCAA receives about $3.3 million from Omaha, so the new deal will be an increase of over 50 percent for the collegiate governing body.

The stadium will be run by the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA), which also oversees the Qwest Center, located just southeast of the new stadium site. MECA will work with the NCAA on securing stadium naming rights, which could bring in close to $1 million annually.