If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed with Omaha, it’s that there is always something big in development. From the looks of it, 2024 will be no different. I’ve gathered some of the biggest things to look forward to in 2024, including the reopening of Joslyn Art Museum and the opening of a couple entertainment centers.
In case you missed it: Here’s the rundown of the huge openings around Omaha in 2023.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
If you like golf and food, then it’s likely you’ll like simulated golf and food. Net Par has announced its grand opening Jan. 9, 2024 at 225 N. 12th St., Suite 150. Net Par is an entertainment center with indoor golf simulators. While the grand opening is set for January, Net Par started taking reservations Dec. 15, 2023, so let’s just assume it’s a soft opening until then.
Kids are welcomed at Net Par, though the website states: “League nights and weekend evenings may not be as kid-friendly as we do have a full-bar and a lively night time atmosphere.” This is the first location in Nebraska; Net Par has three locations in Indiana.
Joslyn Art Museum has been closed for well over a year, and it will finally reopen on Sept. 10, 2024. Once it reopens, there will be a new addition to the museum: 42,000-square-foot Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavilion, which will house galleries and public spaces for programming. There will also be redesigned sculpture gardens outdoors.
According to the museum, “In the new gallery spaces, the public will have unprecedented access to works from the nationally-renowned Phillip G. Schrager Collection of Contemporary Art. The Museum received a transformative gift of over fifty works from that collection, instantly propelling Joslyn to a new position on the international museum stage and greatly expanding the range of 20th-century artists represented in its collection.”
Smashpark will open its first Nebraska location in La Vista in Spring 2024 (perhaps in March or April). Based out of Iowa, Smashpark combines recreation like yard games and pickleball with food and drinks. It’s an indoor/outdoor facility that’s family-friendly by day, and a bit more for the older crowd by night.
Coming soon to Omaha (we just don’t know when)
Combine football with bowling and you get…fowling. You throw a football at bowling pins. Yeah, it’s a thing around the U.S.. And it looks like Nebraska will get its first Fowling Warehouse location soon at 5585 N. 90th St. Details are sparse on when the Omaha location of Fowling Warehouse will open.
Will they or won’t they open in Omaha?
The folks who brought us The Fat Putter in downtown Omaha, as well as Prehistoric Putt and Medieval Putt, are said to be working on a new indoor entertainment center at 2500 S. 120th St. (in the building that used to be Nobbies). Will it be another putt putt place or something totally different? We’ll have to wait and see. No details have been added to the website for all the other putt putt entities, yet. Word is that whatever the new place will be, it should open in 2024.
Rumors have been swirling for months about the possibility of LEGO® opening a store in Omaha or in a nearby community. In June 2023, Omaha World-Herald noted that Nebraska Crossing in Gretna appeared to be hinting at a possible store opening there, though officials are mum. Could it open in 2024? Fingers crossed.
The closest stores are LEGO® Store Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kan. (outside Kansas City); LEGO® Store Mall Of America in Bloomington, Minn. (near the Twin Cities); and LEGO® Store West County Center in Des Peres, Mo. (outside St. Louis). There’s also a great merchandise store connected to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City located in Crown Center.