Tourism report: Kearney keeps growing its tourism:
KEARNEY — Tourism generated $27.2 million in tax receipts for Kearney and Buffalo County in 2022, according to the most recent records.
Roger Jasnoch, director of the Kearney Visitors Bureau, said Kearney and Buffalo County trail only the metro markets of Omaha, Lincoln and Sarpy County when measured by the economic impact of lodging, restaurants, recreational visitors and convention-goers.
Kearney has almost 2,000 sleeping rooms and has a great variety of events and attractions. To accommodate all of that economic activity, tourism employs more than 1,800 people.
The blend of tourism income will change in 2025, Jasnoch told the Kearney City Council recently, when the city of Kearney's 209,000-square-foot SportsPlex opens for business next year.
The indoor sports facility that's taking shape in view of Interstate 80 travelers near the Younes Hospitality Complex in southwest Kearney will accommodate local users on weekdays, but the $46 million structure is designed to accommodate large regional sporting events on the weekends.
Lauren Brandt, who manages the SportsPlex for the city of Kearney, said the facility is tentatively scheduled to open in March. Already there are 20 events booked, including volleyball, basketball, pickleball, wrestling and soccer.
The SportsPlex also will be the site for Kearney's annual Community Olympics and the Nebraska Senior Games.
Jasnoch believes the SportsPlex will be a significant asset for Kearney tourism, but Brandt said the place is generating so much interest its influence could be statewide.
For many years, Kearney families have traveled to population centers including Denver, Kansas City and Omaha to participate in youth sports, but city leaders hope to reverse the traffic pattern when the SportsPlex begins hosting region-wide events.
Although some Nebraska cities are banking on casinos to boost tourism, Brandt said some Nebraska communities have seen what's happening in Kearney and now are looking strongly at sports facilities as economic generators.
"I look at competition as a really good thing," Brandt said. "Everyone in the state is so encouraging to one another. I'm not worried about casinos."
Brandt said the SportsPlex will have a budget of $1.127 million and a staff of 20-25.
"We'll be hiring parttime and seasonal employes in the coming months," she said. The SportsPlex might host its first activities in April.
Jasnoch told the Kearney City Council that Kearney attracts visitors for many reasons. In the spring the big attraction is the sandhill crane migration. The 1 million cranes that roost in the Platte River during their northward flight are considered a global attraction.
The Audubon Society's Rowe Sanctuary has added and updated its crane-viewing capacity with new blinds. Rowe supporters were given an early look at the new facilities last week.
Jasnoch said Kearney's proximity to Interstate 80 makes the city a prime location for bus tours. Fifty coaches brought visitors to town in 2,023, Jasnoch said.
Kearney also has a long partnership with the Nebraska School Activities Association, and hosts state cross country, wrestling duels and sate speech.
Jasnoch reported that Kearney and Buffalo County generated $1.8 million in lodging taxes in 2023-24. That amount eclipses Grand Island, at $1.4 million, and North Platte at $1.3 million.
Jasnoch noted that in 2019-20, when COVID and flooding significantly hampered tourism, Kearney generated $863,000 in lodging taxes; Grand Island had $836,000 and North Platte reported $772,000.
