LINCOLN — Lincoln voters on Nov. 3 will determine the fate of a $17 million volleyball facility that supporters say would boost the city’s status as a youth sport destination.
Fans tout the proposed N4VB (Nebraska for Volleyball) complex as an economic development project that would generate about $22 million in total annual impact by its third year and also serve underrepresented youth through free or reduced-cost programming.
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, nonprofit N4VB and others on Tuesday announced the timing of the general election ballot measure and offered assurances that an affirmative vote would not raise taxes. The vote is necessary for the group to access a state sales tax incentive, referred to as a “turnback tax,” to help finance construction of the privately owned complex.
“Lincoln is the epicenter of volleyball in America, in the state, and I would dare say the globe when you think about that record-setting attendance that we set over in Memorial Stadium a few years ago,” Gaylor Baird said. “We are taking another step forward in recognition of Lincoln’s preeminent position in volleyball.”
Earlier resistance
An earlier hurdle was cleared when the state Sports Arena Facility Finance Assistance Board approved the use of the incentive for the eight-court facility expected to host regional tournaments and year-round activities. It was one of two urban Nebraska projects in May to gain required support of that board after months-long resistance by Gov. Jim Pillen.
Pillen, an SAFFA board member, ultimately voted for the N4VB project application, submitted in partnership with the City of Lincoln, as well as a $140 million downtown Omaha soccer stadium that is a partnership of the City of Omaha and Union Omaha professional soccer franchise. The state board at the time rejected nine other project applications from across the state.
For larger cities such as Omaha and Lincoln, the financing incentive generally works like this: Up to 70% of new state sales taxes generated within 600 yards of the sports facility goes to help pay off bonds for construction. The “new” tax revenue generated refers to ticket sales or retailers that sprout in the designated area for a certain time after the project is announced. Depending on financing and ownership structure, city voters also might have to approve the turnback tax use.
The Omaha soccer stadium project differs from the Lincoln volleyball project in that it is to be owned by the city, not privately owned. Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Taylor said Omaha’s 6,500-seat soccer facility, which is to anchor a downtown mixed-use campus and open in 2028, does not require local voter approval.
She said the city of Omaha plans to use revenue bonds to fund a portion of the cost of the soccer stadium and turnback tax revenue will be pledged to pay the debt service on those bonds, when issued.
Aims to ‘open doors’
In September 2025, the Lincoln City Council passed a resolution endorsed by the mayor that authorized the city to issue revenue bonds for the sports complex to be covered by the turnback tax. The resolution said the city would approve bond terms after a green light from city voters at a special election or statewide primary or general election.
Supporters of the volleyball project have launched a campaign encouraging a “for” vote. They say they are optimistic about the Nov. 3 measure, saying people have been receptive especially after they tell them it is not attached to a tax increase. The N4VB website says the group wants to build a “cutting-edge indoor volleyball complex in northeast Lincoln designed to open doors for the next generation of Nebraska talent without raising local taxes.”
The turnback tax incentive is expected to finance up to 75% of construction costs of the N4VB complex proposed at 30th Street and Folkways Boulevard, with private funding covering the rest of the project that could grow to 12 courts.
N4VB was founded by former Husker athlete Maggie Griffin, who says a goal is to ensure broad access. Club teams are to lease space to support operational revenue, while time and resources are to be reserved for public clinics, camps and outreach programs that are low or no-cost to area youth.
“Registration fees, travel costs and other expenses can quickly put organized sports out of reach for many families,” said John Goodwin, CEO of the Malone Center, a community-based anti-poverty nonprofit involved in the venture. “The N4VB volleyball complex helps change that.”
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