Nebraska ranks as the fifth least visited state in the nation according to Statista, but Nebraska legislators, along with businessman Rod Yates, see tourism as a new area for expansion. Yates has plans for a $5 billion project covering more than 3,500 acres near Interstate 80 and Highway 31, which will serve as an activity hub to attract tourists and as another commercial area in the Gretna-Omaha area. It will act as a neighbor to Nebraska Crossing, another project started by Yates. He names the new concept “Collegiate Crossing,” calling it “the new front door to Nebraska.” However, the responsibilities of a multi-billion dollar project may not be so simple for Gretna to undertake.

As Nebraska’s ambitious Good Life District project starts to take shape, it stands at a crossroads of opportunity and challenge. While the district promises to boost tourism and economic growth, the Gretna City Council’s concerns reflect the responsibilities of balancing the development of the district with more local community needs.
“The City of Gretna does support the opportunities in the Good Life District,” Gretna city administrator Paula Dennison said. “We must, however, ensure that any development project is sustainable and financially viable prior to obtaining approvals by the City.”
Although the Gretna City Council has not received a specific developmental proposal to evaluate yet, the council’s advisers have concerns including a lack of detail in Yates’ plan, an adjacent plan for the city to reduce its own sales tax in the district from two percent to half a percent, and a suggestion for Gretna to use its own resources to obtain land or possibly exercise its power of eminent domain, the government’s ability to take private property for public use. Under these circumstances, the Gretna City Council has not gone further with his plan.
“Gretna’s primary obligation is to our community and current and future taxpayers,” Dennison said. “Keeping this focus, we evaluate each development proposal for any potential positive or negative impacts of any development proposal.”
Yates and his team have started to realize that their project may be too demanding for the city of Gretna to handle. Instead, they are looking into a larger partnership with the entire state of Nebraska.
Yates envisions Collegiate Crossing featuring a USA Volleyball arena to train Olympic athletes, various sports equipment stores, residential areas, other retailers, and multiple new-to-market restaurants yet to be announced. Other sports Yates plans to offer at Collegiate Crossing include soccer, indoor surfing, sky-diving, rock climbing, horseback riding and more. It is to feature year-round athletic programs for high schoolers to train and compete to promote themselves to college scouts.
This project has quickly garnered support from prominent figures in Nebraska’s government. Yates and his team presented the terms for his project to the Gretna City Council with signatures of approval from both Governor Jim Pillen and K.C. Belitz, the director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
On Nov. 5, voters in Nebraska approved the Good Life Transformational Projects Act, which changes how tax dollars collected from the soon-to-be Good Life District near the intersection, and future Good Life Districts, are spent.
As of now, the district will only have a 2.75% sales tax instead of the regular 5.5%. A special election will be held on Jan. 14, to increase the sales tax back to 5.5% in the district, but the extra half will be funneled back into a fund directly managed by the state to support the Good Life district.
“Any potential ‘re-capture’ of the non-collected 2.75% state sales tax would not go to the city for our sole use but into a fund,” Dennison said. “The fund, with an affirmative vote of the people, would be established through the adoption of a Good Life Economic Development Program ordinance and would be overseen by the city with the purpose of implementing the Good Life District in Gretna.”
As the Good Life District project begins to take shape, its future remains uncertain. While the ambitious vision of “Collegiate Crossing” promises to bring a new wave of sports, entertainment, and economic growth to Gretna, it also raises questions about how the city will balance its local needs with large-scale development. As Gretna and Nebraska look toward the future, the Good Life District is shaping up to be a game-changer for everyone involved.

This story was originally published on The Wingspan on December 13, 2024.