Heavy rain from severe storms drenches Omaha sports complex

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Blue humidifiers were still out at the Maple Athletic Complex near 120th and Fort Streets on Friday — four days after severe thunderstorms dumped inches of rain on Omaha.

“Around 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday in the morning is when the creek in the back flooded, overflowed, and started coming through multiple doors,” said complex manager Landon Arnold.

Arnold saw the soccer turfs fill with water. He and his crews have been working tirelessly to clean and dry what they can.

“It’s still a little bit wet and we’re not going to let anybody play here,” Arnold said.

The tennis courts also overflowed, but have since dried out. Players like Mike Mundt were happy to see them open again.

“We missed Wednesday, but now we’re playing Friday, so they got them back in a hurry,” Mundt said.

City parks and trails near the sports complex were also hit hard by the flood. The city says the cleanup is progressing nicely, and impacts to parkgoers over the holiday weekend are not expected.

For the staff at the complex and all the work still to be done — they aren’t sure if the fields will open fast enough.

“We have a big league on Sunday that goes from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at night so it’s not ideal, but there’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Arnold said.

The complex’s soccer turf should open back up by Tuesday.

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