Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fear not, because there was a place that was looking
out for me when I was going through that, and
I am indebted to this place for the rest of
my days. It is the Hilton Omaha Downtown, a beautiful hotel,
best spot to stay if you're coming from out of
town to in town and joining us from the Hilton
Omaha is their general manager, Robert Sabin. Robert, an honor
(00:22):
to be sitting next to you, sir, Oh, well, you
know it's an honor. And you know we have to
do a check in. You know, you've been in town
for a little bit now. We got to do a
check in to see how you and the family are
doing after staying with us, and you know it's kind
of our civic duty. I think, you know that makes
a lot of sense. You've made an investment. You kind
of want to make sure everything's going okay. You know,
things are good on my end. And I'll be honest,
(00:42):
I haven't been too much of a stranger because I
you know, for our anniversary we went to nix Korum
and we're able a few months ago to get an
awesome dinner and meal and very impressive on the menu.
I know we met a lot of listeners when we
did one of our gourmet clubs over there at nix
Korum and then of course he got the bar and
you have the stage and anytime there's any event going on,
(01:05):
there's always something happening there. So can you kind of
explain for people how Hilton Omaha is just bigger than
just your friendly neighborhood hotel next to the Civic Center.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, you know, it's actually twenty five years in the
making if you think about it, So the city redeveloped itself,
you know, with the new image, with the expansion of
a new convention center, you know, twenty five years ago
to go along with the hotel connected via the Skyway.
And through these couple decades, we've been excited to be
the back door on all these great events that happened
in Omaha really showcase nationally what a great city this is.
(01:38):
And you know, we're honored, whether it's you know, having
yourself and your family here and in temporary living all
the way to some of these great events. And you know,
just last Friday, we've got the you know, the the
new record attendance with the Supernova's you know, coming off
of their you know, huge season last year being the
champions and kicking off this season and you know, you
(01:59):
can just go through it and we're just thrilled to
be the backyard of Omamaha and all the great events
that go along with it.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I mean, it's such a great point, right, It's just
you are in such a prime location there for you
to be a part of what's happening downtown. So you know,
as the general manager, you're constantly thinking of different ways
to push through. And we'll talk a bit about a
brand new thing that you guys have called the cast
Street Green in detail in a second, but you talk
(02:25):
about just how much it's important for people for a
place to go. I did the show live, My show
Live from the Hilton on the first day of the
NCAA Tournament last March, and I mean it was chaos
in there the whole day with different people from all
over the country that were in there for different reasons,
(02:46):
and everybody had such a great time. You know, like,
how do you prepare for these different things? I mean,
obviously the College World Series is a huge deal too,
but you mentioned like the Supernovas and I stopped over there.
I saw Sebastian Maniscalco, a few weeks ago and wanted
to over for a couple of beverages afterwards. I mean,
you guys really think about what that's like for people
who aren't even staying in the Hilton.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, so you know, uncover the uh a little bit here.
We we we do put a lot of strategy behind it.
We actually call it activations. So however we can activate
that lobby. You know, again it's a big you know,
people that have been there, you know, almost everybody has
in town. You know, it's a big, active lobby, and
we want to activate it, and we want to just
be able to provide something for our Omaha residents and
(03:28):
or those people that are coming in from out of
town so that there's always you know, you know, you
can always count on something being there. You don't even
have to like, you know, check out what the you know,
the listings are or anything. You just know that if
there's something going on downtown, you certainly are going to
be able to go over into our lobby or any
of the areas around that uh, you know area, whether
it's going to be outside, which we'll talk about in
a second, or just on our patios are now in
(03:50):
nick Quorum, which we opened in the last nine months.
Those are all other areas that we want to activate
and just give something for our Omaha residents and again
for those people that are traveling to town, you know,
places to go in, places to see. You know. One
thing we're adding a we're adding a trivia game that
you can be able to play on your cell phone
in the lobby bar, just you know, if you're hanging
(04:11):
out before the game and you're just not sure what
sometimes you just want to play trivia right all the time. Yeah,
and our bartenders all excited. We're gonna give them t
shirts and stuff, and they're just gonna give out prizes
just for fun, you know, you know, maybe a bar
tab or whatever, just easy little fun stuff. You know.
We have some of the great regional acts play acoustically
in the lobby as well. Jason Mayer is one of
(04:32):
the guys that plays all the time for Sean Friedo.
And these guys really are about Omaha and they have
a kind of an Omaha sound. I would say, you know,
kind of a mixture of you know, good classic roots
and a little bit of country and you know, those
types of that sound I think is really something that
our guests really love and again not too loud, but
an acoustic sound and just giving some flavor. We're really
(04:55):
really excited and we're excited about this year because you know,
there's just so much to play now with the Supernovas
coming into second season Creighton, you know, cross our fingers.
They seem to be doing pretty well, and you know,
we're excited about everything going on.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That's so great. We're talking to the general manager of
the Hilton Omaha Downtown, a place that you always see
when you're going either the ballpark or a c CHI
house center or you know, even looking for a place
to say, there's no better place than this downtown Robert,
And you know, I know that you look at this
from a business standpoint as well, But how you guys
do strategize? So I know it's January, what are you
(05:30):
thinking about this time of the year, Because you're obviously
trying to make it a great place for people to
stay as a traditional hotel because sometimes people are just
looking for that. But with your location and your you know,
connection to all of what's going on in the most
important spot in downtown Omaha, what kind of things are
you thinking about right now? For you know, the next
six months.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
We're actually finalizing all of our entertainment for College World
Series right now.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Wow, okay, so you're like six you're totally six months out.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, And so then you look at the concert schedule
and again, you know, see which I have just announced
today that they've got probably three more shows are going
to announce before that'll hit before June. So then we
look at that concert schedule, and then we have two
things that are going on. We want to make sure
that there's the entertainment going on in the lobby. And
now with nicks Quorum, we do the big show menu,
so you get a three course meal at a set price,
(06:18):
and you can make a reservation via open table, and
the whole idea is to make sure we get in there,
get a great meal, but also timely, right because you
got to get to the show. So so those are
some of the things that we're planning. Obviously, Valentine's Day
is right around the corner. We just had New Year's Eve,
which was fun, but you know, Valentine's Day, we're doing
a four course meal and nicks Quorum to go along
(06:38):
with some fun entertainment that that actually that Saturday, we're
going to be doing Febtoberfest.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Oh is that beer related?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It is? All right, So we got a polka band
that'll be playing on this les stage.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Come on, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And that's also the same weekend as President's Day volleyball.
I know, we got so many volleyball fans and how
are they listening to the show here? But not only
is it that volleyball weekend, but that is the that's
the weekend where all of the local club teams play volleyball.
Across the street. They have like fifty you know courts
that are sitting in the convention center, and obviously we're
(07:14):
right next door, so we got all these volleyball players
coming in and out. And last year we started this
Febtoberfest and the parents just love it, and you know,
the kids are doing the polka and everything, but the
parents are enjoying the beer and the Bronts and everything
can go along with it. So yeah, that's kind of
our strategy. You know, we kind of look at these
things and we just really try to again activate it.
Nothing too over the top, you know, but just having
(07:35):
fun with it and making sure that everybody has some
level of interest as they come over to the Hotel.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
It's so cool you stick around for another segment, right, yeah,
all right, and it's three forty six week come back.
We got to tell you all about the brand new
edition happening over there at the Hilton Omaha called the
Cass Street Green. We will tell you what that is
next on news Radio eleven ten KFAB.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And Rie Songer on news Radio eleven ten KFAB.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
We could talk about you know, what's going on at
the Hilton all day long. I love the place, but
let's go ahead and talk about the Cass Street Green.
This is a sweet idea. Tell people kind of the
genesis in what this thing will look like.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah, the genesis really comes from it's twofold. So you know,
going back twenty five years ago, we had the Convention
Center into the downtown region, and over the course of
the last twenty years, we have certainly put our mark
as one of the premiere places to meet in the
Midwest and really nationally. We continue to gain groups that
(08:33):
want to come to Omaha because of all the great features,
but then also the facilities. Right and you know, back
in November there was a great vote to expand the
convention Center. So we're going to get that expansion of
the convention center over the next two years. It's already
in process, the building has already started. And then what
we thought was going to be vital is that we
(08:54):
kept hearing from meeting planners and groups that they wanted
to find someplace that was in that convention center district
but also had an outdoor feel. And so when we
started three years ago, which is coming up on four
years ago, this is the second part of the genesis,
we started doing a premiere tailgate party for College World series,
(09:17):
and so many people loved it. And I know there's
some other things going on with the home run village
and all that stuff, but we kind of put our
own spin on it, and the fact that we were
on a grass with a tent, it just it was
just a little bit more intimate environment, I think for
some of the some of the locals that really loved it.
So that ended up becoming such kind of almost like
a proof of concept for us. But the thing that
(09:38):
we just realized though when we were doing this is
when you do it on grass, you have the mud,
you kind of it almost becomes lallapalooza too, you know,
just everything is just so muddy and everything. So we
went to you know, a local Omaha firm and said, hey,
we need to fi figure out irrigation. Could we do
like astro turf like you see at a stadium And
they said absolutely, So they developed the lamp and renders
(09:59):
and they developed a great concept for us. And then
to top it off, you know, we top it off
is the tent, right, and so we wanted to make
sure that that we could put these tents up quick
and effective and in any size. So we're actually building
into the foundation support where the tent links can go
down into the ground six feet and that means that
(10:20):
this can that a tent can actually be raised within
less than an hour. So we're really in a position
that we can get a quick setup and a quick turndown.
Uh and then uh, with the irrigation being able to
have a really nice dry just in case there is
any rain, or if there's rain the day before or after,
we're gonna be able to you know, deliver in a
great environment. So we've got you know, uh, College World
(10:41):
Series obviously is where this is going to be a
fantastic uh you know, next generation for us. But we
also think that with all the meetings and conventions and
events that we continue to attract, and as we expand
the Convention Center, this will be another great venue for
these groups to have to take advantage of when they
come to town.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
So, just for clearication, this is a I mean, what
a great idea to have just available all year and
not just you know, because I have frank Withted that
in the first couple of years for the College World
Series that I've lived here, it's just an awesome spot.
So is this going to be in that same spot
as in the same area, right in the front next
to the parking garage.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, exactly, at that spot right on the corner of
Twelfth and Casts And sometimes it's a green space, sometimes
it's a muddy space sometimes, you know. And that's all
because why we wanted to get that turf there and
Castreet Green is what we're calling it, because we also
wanted to make sure that it actually looked good throughout
the entire season because you know, when the winter, the
grass would die on us and everything. So yeah, it's
(11:36):
a beautification part of it as well. Okay, so when
is this thing opening up?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Is College World Series is going to be kind of
its debut, are you guys going to kind of roll
this out a little earlier.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
No, well, we're excited right now. We actually have the
turf down and we'll be finishing off the foundations pieces
once the you know, once the weather warms up a
little bit so we can do the concrete piece. But
really March first on, we're ready to go. But we are.
We have an enormous College World series planned out where
we're actually adding a couple of days to the tent activation,
(12:06):
including the final game now, because we're able to just
be able to set up and break down so much
quicker and effective, and you know, the weather issue is
really goes away as well.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It's so cool. Okay, So for anybody who's maybe looking
for this, I know that they might be saying, okay, well,
if this becomes kind of a permanent thing, I'd like
to have my big event there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Is that something that people have the option to do?
And how can they learn more about this?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, you know, our sales team is ready to go.
You know, we certainly can go on our website at
Omaha Hilton dot com. But you know, at the end
of the day, I think you're you know, so many
people come in and out please take a look, you know,
with all these activities and events when you're driving in,
just go out and take a look, you know, and
our team is ready to go right there. You can
get information from the front desk or you know, all
(12:48):
of us are always walking around there because we love
to be around all of our guests that come into
the hotel. And yeah, again, it really is something that
we think that you know, locally and from a national perspective,
that we're going to really be able to satisfy a
lot of a lot of people that put together events
in groups such like that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I always found it kind of interesting when I was,
you know, living in the hotel for you know, over
a month, I noticed, you know, every weekend or you
know even sometimes during the week there'd be like these
conventions that were happening, probably in the convention center or
maybe nearby, or maybe even in the hotel itself, and
it was just like the perfect centralized location for people
just to stay and then also to like their event
was happening like either in the hotel itself or right
(13:29):
next door. And this just kind of adds like that
extra element like imagine wedding or something like that, you know,
just that something like that, just that to me is like, wow,
the possibilities are truly endless. Now that this is kind
of a fixed feature of the hotel.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Well, you know, something as grand as a wedding, but
even if we have a national convention of a group
coming in and really we think any from mid March
all the way to you know, the beginning of October.
Well you know, instead of you know, being inside of
a ballroom for even just breakfast and lunch, what about
being outside when the weather is so great in Omaha
at that time of year, and we can partially tenant
tented all the way, don't even have to tenant, but
(14:06):
you know, it's easy to set up and everything, and
we just give another wonderful feel. I mean, just having
breakfast at lunch right in the middle of the city
right there is a great feel as well.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Ah and gosh, as you see the ballpark there, you
see arena there. You know, the guy's a beautiful hotel.
You feel like they're living when you're hanging out down
there at the Hilton Omaha. So last thing before anybody
out there is thinking about the easiest way to learn more,
I know that you guys are very active online as well,
but you kind of have an open door policy as
(14:35):
well because there's always something going on in the lobby.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, no, just Omaha. Hilton dot com is an
easy way to just you know, get the information to
get started. We have yet to get into the great
photography because we have yet to put it up, but
we'll be in the next couple of months. We're gonna
get you know, the drone footage and everything, so we'll
put up some tents and you know, have some fun
with it and definitely, you know, if it's at least
to the College World Series, time come and check it out.
(14:59):
At that point. Obviously we've got I think we've built
some legendary pre and post game parties at this point.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Now, it's awesome. Robert Saban, the general manager of Hilton Omaha.
Robert as always so great to talk to you. Congratulations
and all the growth over there, and can't wait to
see you again soon.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
All right, Sarah, thank you,
Fear not, because there was a place that was looking
out for me when I was going through that, and
I am indebted to this place for the rest of
my days. It is the Hilton Omaha Downtown, a beautiful hotel,
best spot to stay if you're coming from out of
town to in town and joining us from the Hilton
Omaha is their general manager, Robert Sabin. Robert, an honor
(00:22):
to be sitting next to you, sir, Oh, well, you
know it's an honor. And you know we have to
do a check in. You know, you've been in town
for a little bit now. We got to do a
check in to see how you and the family are
doing after staying with us, and you know it's kind
of our civic duty. I think, you know that makes
a lot of sense. You've made an investment. You kind
of want to make sure everything's going okay. You know,
things are good on my end. And I'll be honest,
(00:42):
I haven't been too much of a stranger because I
you know, for our anniversary we went to nix Korum
and we're able a few months ago to get an
awesome dinner and meal and very impressive on the menu.
I know we met a lot of listeners when we
did one of our gourmet clubs over there at nix
Korum and then of course he got the bar and
you have the stage and anytime there's any event going on,
(01:05):
there's always something happening there. So can you kind of
explain for people how Hilton Omaha is just bigger than
just your friendly neighborhood hotel next to the Civic Center.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, you know, it's actually twenty five years in the
making if you think about it, So the city redeveloped itself,
you know, with the new image, with the expansion of
a new convention center, you know, twenty five years ago
to go along with the hotel connected via the Skyway.
And through these couple decades, we've been excited to be
the back door on all these great events that happened
in Omaha really showcase nationally what a great city this is.
(01:38):
And you know, we're honored, whether it's you know, having
yourself and your family here and in temporary living all
the way to some of these great events. And you know,
just last Friday, we've got the you know, the the
new record attendance with the Supernova's you know, coming off
of their you know, huge season last year being the
champions and kicking off this season and you know, you
(01:59):
can just go through it and we're just thrilled to
be the backyard of Omamaha and all the great events
that go along with it.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I mean, it's such a great point, right, It's just
you are in such a prime location there for you
to be a part of what's happening downtown. So you know,
as the general manager, you're constantly thinking of different ways
to push through. And we'll talk a bit about a
brand new thing that you guys have called the cast
Street Green in detail in a second, but you talk
(02:25):
about just how much it's important for people for a
place to go. I did the show live, My show
Live from the Hilton on the first day of the
NCAA Tournament last March, and I mean it was chaos
in there the whole day with different people from all
over the country that were in there for different reasons,
(02:46):
and everybody had such a great time. You know, like,
how do you prepare for these different things? I mean,
obviously the College World Series is a huge deal too,
but you mentioned like the Supernovas and I stopped over there.
I saw Sebastian Maniscalco, a few weeks ago and wanted
to over for a couple of beverages afterwards. I mean,
you guys really think about what that's like for people
who aren't even staying in the Hilton.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, so you know, uncover the uh a little bit here.
We we we do put a lot of strategy behind it.
We actually call it activations. So however we can activate
that lobby. You know, again it's a big you know,
people that have been there, you know, almost everybody has
in town. You know, it's a big, active lobby, and
we want to activate it, and we want to just
be able to provide something for our Omaha residents and
(03:28):
or those people that are coming in from out of
town so that there's always you know, you know, you
can always count on something being there. You don't even
have to like, you know, check out what the you know,
the listings are or anything. You just know that if
there's something going on downtown, you certainly are going to
be able to go over into our lobby or any
of the areas around that uh, you know area, whether
it's going to be outside, which we'll talk about in
a second, or just on our patios are now in
(03:50):
nick Quorum, which we opened in the last nine months.
Those are all other areas that we want to activate
and just give something for our Omaha residents and again
for those people that are traveling to town, you know,
places to go in, places to see. You know. One
thing we're adding a we're adding a trivia game that
you can be able to play on your cell phone
in the lobby bar, just you know, if you're hanging
(04:11):
out before the game and you're just not sure what
sometimes you just want to play trivia right all the time. Yeah,
and our bartenders all excited. We're gonna give them t
shirts and stuff, and they're just gonna give out prizes
just for fun, you know, you know, maybe a bar
tab or whatever, just easy little fun stuff. You know.
We have some of the great regional acts play acoustically
in the lobby as well. Jason Mayer is one of
(04:32):
the guys that plays all the time for Sean Friedo.
And these guys really are about Omaha and they have
a kind of an Omaha sound. I would say, you know,
kind of a mixture of you know, good classic roots
and a little bit of country and you know, those
types of that sound I think is really something that
our guests really love and again not too loud, but
an acoustic sound and just giving some flavor. We're really
(04:55):
really excited and we're excited about this year because you know,
there's just so much to play now with the Supernovas
coming into second season Creighton, you know, cross our fingers.
They seem to be doing pretty well, and you know,
we're excited about everything going on.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
That's so great. We're talking to the general manager of
the Hilton Omaha Downtown, a place that you always see
when you're going either the ballpark or a c CHI
house center or you know, even looking for a place
to say, there's no better place than this downtown Robert,
And you know, I know that you look at this
from a business standpoint as well, But how you guys
do strategize? So I know it's January, what are you
(05:30):
thinking about this time of the year, Because you're obviously
trying to make it a great place for people to
stay as a traditional hotel because sometimes people are just
looking for that. But with your location and your you know,
connection to all of what's going on in the most
important spot in downtown Omaha, what kind of things are
you thinking about right now? For you know, the next
six months.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
We're actually finalizing all of our entertainment for College World
Series right now.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Wow, okay, so you're like six you're totally six months out.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, And so then you look at the concert schedule
and again, you know, see which I have just announced
today that they've got probably three more shows are going
to announce before that'll hit before June. So then we
look at that concert schedule, and then we have two
things that are going on. We want to make sure
that there's the entertainment going on in the lobby. And
now with nicks Quorum, we do the big show menu,
so you get a three course meal at a set price,
(06:18):
and you can make a reservation via open table, and
the whole idea is to make sure we get in there,
get a great meal, but also timely, right because you
got to get to the show. So so those are
some of the things that we're planning. Obviously, Valentine's Day
is right around the corner. We just had New Year's Eve,
which was fun, but you know, Valentine's Day, we're doing
a four course meal and nicks Quorum to go along
(06:38):
with some fun entertainment that that actually that Saturday, we're
going to be doing Febtoberfest.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Oh is that beer related?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It is? All right, So we got a polka band
that'll be playing on this les stage.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Come on, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And that's also the same weekend as President's Day volleyball.
I know, we got so many volleyball fans and how
are they listening to the show here? But not only
is it that volleyball weekend, but that is the that's
the weekend where all of the local club teams play volleyball.
Across the street. They have like fifty you know courts
that are sitting in the convention center, and obviously we're
(07:14):
right next door, so we got all these volleyball players
coming in and out. And last year we started this
Febtoberfest and the parents just love it, and you know,
the kids are doing the polka and everything, but the
parents are enjoying the beer and the Bronts and everything
can go along with it. So yeah, that's kind of
our strategy. You know, we kind of look at these
things and we just really try to again activate it.
Nothing too over the top, you know, but just having
(07:35):
fun with it and making sure that everybody has some
level of interest as they come over to the Hotel.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
It's so cool you stick around for another segment, right, yeah,
all right, and it's three forty six week come back.
We got to tell you all about the brand new
edition happening over there at the Hilton Omaha called the
Cass Street Green. We will tell you what that is
next on news Radio eleven ten KFAB.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
And Rie Songer on news Radio eleven ten KFAB.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
We could talk about you know, what's going on at
the Hilton all day long. I love the place, but
let's go ahead and talk about the Cass Street Green.
This is a sweet idea. Tell people kind of the
genesis in what this thing will look like.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah, the genesis really comes from it's twofold. So you know,
going back twenty five years ago, we had the Convention
Center into the downtown region, and over the course of
the last twenty years, we have certainly put our mark
as one of the premiere places to meet in the
Midwest and really nationally. We continue to gain groups that
(08:33):
want to come to Omaha because of all the great features,
but then also the facilities. Right and you know, back
in November there was a great vote to expand the
convention Center. So we're going to get that expansion of
the convention center over the next two years. It's already
in process, the building has already started. And then what
we thought was going to be vital is that we
(08:54):
kept hearing from meeting planners and groups that they wanted
to find someplace that was in that convention center district
but also had an outdoor feel. And so when we
started three years ago, which is coming up on four
years ago, this is the second part of the genesis,
we started doing a premiere tailgate party for College World series,
(09:17):
and so many people loved it. And I know there's
some other things going on with the home run village
and all that stuff, but we kind of put our
own spin on it, and the fact that we were
on a grass with a tent, it just it was
just a little bit more intimate environment, I think for
some of the some of the locals that really loved it.
So that ended up becoming such kind of almost like
a proof of concept for us. But the thing that
(09:38):
we just realized though when we were doing this is
when you do it on grass, you have the mud,
you kind of it almost becomes lallapalooza too, you know,
just everything is just so muddy and everything. So we
went to you know, a local Omaha firm and said, hey,
we need to fi figure out irrigation. Could we do
like astro turf like you see at a stadium And
they said absolutely, So they developed the lamp and renders
(09:59):
and they developed a great concept for us. And then
to top it off, you know, we top it off
is the tent, right, and so we wanted to make
sure that that we could put these tents up quick
and effective and in any size. So we're actually building
into the foundation support where the tent links can go
down into the ground six feet and that means that
(10:20):
this can that a tent can actually be raised within
less than an hour. So we're really in a position
that we can get a quick setup and a quick turndown.
Uh and then uh, with the irrigation being able to
have a really nice dry just in case there is
any rain, or if there's rain the day before or after,
we're gonna be able to you know, deliver in a
great environment. So we've got you know, uh, College World
(10:41):
Series obviously is where this is going to be a
fantastic uh you know, next generation for us. But we
also think that with all the meetings and conventions and
events that we continue to attract, and as we expand
the Convention Center, this will be another great venue for
these groups to have to take advantage of when they
come to town.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
So, just for clearication, this is a I mean, what
a great idea to have just available all year and
not just you know, because I have frank Withted that
in the first couple of years for the College World
Series that I've lived here, it's just an awesome spot.
So is this going to be in that same spot
as in the same area, right in the front next
to the parking garage.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, exactly, at that spot right on the corner of
Twelfth and Casts And sometimes it's a green space, sometimes
it's a muddy space sometimes, you know. And that's all
because why we wanted to get that turf there and
Castreet Green is what we're calling it, because we also
wanted to make sure that it actually looked good throughout
the entire season because you know, when the winter, the
grass would die on us and everything. So yeah, it's
(11:36):
a beautification part of it as well. Okay, so when
is this thing opening up?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Is College World Series is going to be kind of
its debut, are you guys going to kind of roll
this out a little earlier.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
No, well, we're excited right now. We actually have the
turf down and we'll be finishing off the foundations pieces
once the you know, once the weather warms up a
little bit so we can do the concrete piece. But
really March first on, we're ready to go. But we are.
We have an enormous College World series planned out where
we're actually adding a couple of days to the tent activation,
(12:06):
including the final game now, because we're able to just
be able to set up and break down so much
quicker and effective, and you know, the weather issue is
really goes away as well.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It's so cool. Okay, So for anybody who's maybe looking
for this, I know that they might be saying, okay, well,
if this becomes kind of a permanent thing, I'd like
to have my big event there.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Is that something that people have the option to do?
And how can they learn more about this?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, you know, our sales team is ready to go.
You know, we certainly can go on our website at
Omaha Hilton dot com. But you know, at the end
of the day, I think you're you know, so many
people come in and out please take a look, you know,
with all these activities and events when you're driving in,
just go out and take a look, you know, and
our team is ready to go right there. You can
get information from the front desk or you know, all
(12:48):
of us are always walking around there because we love
to be around all of our guests that come into
the hotel. And yeah, again, it really is something that
we think that you know, locally and from a national perspective,
that we're going to really be able to satisfy a
lot of a lot of people that put together events
in groups such like that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I always found it kind of interesting when I was,
you know, living in the hotel for you know, over
a month, I noticed, you know, every weekend or you
know even sometimes during the week there'd be like these
conventions that were happening, probably in the convention center or
maybe nearby, or maybe even in the hotel itself, and
it was just like the perfect centralized location for people
just to stay and then also to like their event
was happening like either in the hotel itself or right
(13:29):
next door. And this just kind of adds like that
extra element like imagine wedding or something like that, you know,
just that something like that, just that to me is like, wow,
the possibilities are truly endless. Now that this is kind
of a fixed feature of the hotel.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Well, you know, something as grand as a wedding, but
even if we have a national convention of a group
coming in and really we think any from mid March
all the way to you know, the beginning of October.
Well you know, instead of you know, being inside of
a ballroom for even just breakfast and lunch, what about
being outside when the weather is so great in Omaha
at that time of year, and we can partially tenant
tented all the way, don't even have to tenant, but
(14:06):
you know, it's easy to set up and everything, and
we just give another wonderful feel. I mean, just having
breakfast at lunch right in the middle of the city
right there is a great feel as well.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Ah and gosh, as you see the ballpark there, you
see arena there. You know, the guy's a beautiful hotel.
You feel like they're living when you're hanging out down
there at the Hilton Omaha. So last thing before anybody
out there is thinking about the easiest way to learn more,
I know that you guys are very active online as well,
but you kind of have an open door policy as
(14:35):
well because there's always something going on in the lobby.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, yeah, no, just Omaha. Hilton dot com is an
easy way to just you know, get the information to
get started. We have yet to get into the great
photography because we have yet to put it up, but
we'll be in the next couple of months. We're gonna
get you know, the drone footage and everything, so we'll
put up some tents and you know, have some fun
with it and definitely, you know, if it's at least
to the College World Series, time come and check it out.
(14:59):
At that point. Obviously we've got I think we've built
some legendary pre and post game parties at this point.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Now, it's awesome. Robert Saban, the general manager of Hilton Omaha.
Robert as always so great to talk to you. Congratulations
and all the growth over there, and can't wait to
see you again soon.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
All right, Sarah, thank you,
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