By: George Lauby-December 5, 2021
Tad Haneborg of the D&N Activity Center plans to double the size of the center.
The D&N Center is the largest indoor arena in North Platte. Hamburg wants it to grow.
With a US$600,000 improvement fund grant from the Tourism Bureau as seed funding, he set his sights on a US$7.5 million, 50,000-square-foot center expansion project.
This will more than double its size.
Currently, the center has 35,000 square feet on the first floor, plus the concession area and the mixed martial arts arena upstairs, plus another 5,000 square feet.
The proposed addition will include a new building to be built on the north side of the existing building. The two buildings will be connected by new dressing rooms, lounges and concession areas.
Haneborg said that the expansion of D&N was a building built by his father, Larry, and it was a long-term dream. He said his father envisioned a 200,000 square foot center.
D&N is now busier than ever, hosting approximately 160 events each year, with an average of three events per week. These are sports leagues, trade shows, weddings, and special events, such as the Midwestern Championship (MCF21), which recently attracted approximately 2,000 people.
Haneborg said that due to schedule conflicts, he declined requests for more events. If he has more space, he can hold them.
Lisa Burke of the Tourism Bureau recently stated that sporting events are an ever-increasing driving force that can promote economic prosperity in communities even during economic downturns.
The Tourism Bureau pays attention to sports events to attract tourists from the state and surrounding states. According to the tourism industry report, in 2019, sports tourism generated US$103.3 billion in expenditures in the United States. The survey found that that year, nearly 180 million people-almost half of the American population-went to watch sports events as spectators or participants.
Burke said North Platte may be an excellent destination for Denver and Omaha sports teams that don't have the budget to travel to each other's cities. They can and sometimes already meet in the middle. Events such as the National Horseshoe Championships and regional boxing matches show that contestants and their families have come to North Platte to participate in the competition.
Larger indoor sports venues may greatly promote sports tourism in Lincoln County.
Burke said that the increased capacity of D&N will also be used for local activities this week and will accommodate more local teams, which will have a positive impact on the community and the economy.
Last season was the most important year in the club's wrestling competition. Haneborg said that more than 100 club wrestling teams from a wide area rely on D&N. Local teams use it for league matches and training, not only for wrestling, but also for volleyball, basketball, softball, tennis and football. From elementary school to college athletes, people of all ages can practice outdoors when the weather is bad. D&N provides a practice place.
It is also a venue for dance concerts, dinners and weddings. Haneborg has seriously discussed the issue of adding an indoor ice skating rink in winter.
In the past four years, Haneborg has upgraded D&N with new floors, roofs, sound and lighting. The most advanced lighting system can illuminate each part, wall or point on the wall individually or together. He also added a ceiling light truss that can flash in time with music.
The overhead truss has been installed. The lamp itself was blocked in the supply chain crisis, but it is coming soon.
Over the years, D&N has hosted almost all types of events, including concerts, go-kart competitions and bull riding. Looking ahead, North Platte may one day become the home of top golf courses and other new attractions.
Haneborg said that his plan to build a hotel and shopping center near D&N is progressing and has been delayed for several months due to the impact of COVID-19, and construction is expected to start in the spring. He said that the complex will be a combination of two hotels.
The hotel is located just east of the Comfort Inn, overlooking the Iron Horse Lake. Haneborg also envisions providing overnight rooms, retail stores, and one or two restaurants in the area.
How quickly this will take shape is not yet known, but Haneborg is doing a lot of planning. Lisa Burke, executive director of the Tourism Bureau, said that the $600,000 grant from the Tourism Bureau will be distributed over three years. Certain conditions must be met before each installment is paid.
Haneborg told the Bulletin that he also applied for CARES bill funding, which could cover half of the $7.5 million expansion cost. The CARES Act aims to help construction projects delayed due to the pandemic.
An engineer made a plan for the 50,000 square foot expansion in February 2020, but this was their plan before COVID-19 stopped travel.
Haneborg hopes that the CARES grant will be approved in early spring.
He said North Platte might be as attractive to tourists as Kearney, and in some ways, local developers have been making better decisions.
"Kearney's activity center and ice hockey arena have been struggling and experienced four owners," he said. "We can keep going because of our versatility. Our floor space is not used for hockey or fixed seats. All in all, we have more variety."
(This article was first published in the print edition of the bulletin on November 24.)
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