Dial back the clock to 2010, when Lincoln voters went to the polls in May to vote on $25 million in initial public financing for a new arena with a $360 million price tag.
In 2010, the Pershing Center was Lincoln's civic venue, but sporting events downtown seemingly amounted to the annual rodeo, a visit by the Harlem Globetrotters and state high school tournaments. Well, the state basketball tournament, that is. The NSAA moved the state volleyball tournament out of Pershing after the nets came down in 2009.
To the north of downtown, Husker basketball teams called the Devaney Sports Center home.