Creighton Quad opens, bringing new green space to campus
Creighton University’s Omaha campus has a new place for students to gather, relax and enjoy the outdoors.
The University celebrated the official opening of the Creighton Quad with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 12, unveiling 5.7 acres of green space. The project, one of the largest physical transformations in the University's history, creates a new gathering space at the center of campus life.
With expansive lawns, outdoor seating and spaces designed for events and everyday activities, the Quad offers students, faculty and staff more opportunities to spend time together outside the classroom.
"This transformation will forever change how our students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests experience campus,” said University President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “The Creighton Quad not only gives Creighton a prominent gathering space; it creates a crown jewel at the heart of the city’s urban core."
A new gathering place for campus
Located north of the California Street Pedestrian Mall across from the Ahmanson Law Center and adjacent to the Mike and Josie Harper Center, the Creighton Quad connects several of the University’s academic buildings and residence halls.
The 251,500-square-foot space features an amphitheater, stage, pavilion, fountain plaza and a central ellipse with where a future art installation will live. Outdoor classrooms, social terraces and shaded seating areas provide additional places for students to study, meet with classmates or take a break between classes.
The landscape also incorporates nearly 200 trees, as well as a variety of shrubs and plants designed to bring seasonal color and greenery to campus.
Beyond everyday student use, the Creighton Quad is designed to accommodate some of Creighton’s signature events, including orientation, graduation celebrations and alumni reunions.
The project responds directly to student feedback. In surveys conducted by University leadership, adding more natural green space consistently emerged as one of the most popular requests for campus improvements.
A major investment in Creighton’s future
The Creighton Quad was designed by OJB Landscape Architecture and was constructed by Kiewit Corporation. The $24 million project is entirely donor-funded, with significant support from the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation and other generous contributors.
Construction began in 2025 on the former site of Creighton’s baseball and softball fields, which were relocated to new facilities on the east side of campus as part of the University’s Fly Together initiative.
The Creighton Quad continues a period of campus development that includes the openings of Graves Hall and the CL and Rachel Werner Center for Health Sciences Education in 2023, the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence in 2024 and Magis Hall in August 2026.
Alongside a future Burt Street Greenway, the Creighton Quad will further link the Omaha community and the University. Creighton’s investment in the city’s urban core since 2015, including public-private partnerships, is projected to surpass $1 billion by the early 2030s.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mogens Bay, chairman of the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation, spoke about the project's significance for the University and the urban core.
"Our Foundation saw the Quad as an opportunity to invest in both Creighton and Omaha. Like our Foundation’s late founder, Robert B. Daugherty, we see their futures as deeply intertwined,” Bay said. "The University has always been and will continue to be a key contributor to the thriving of our city and state. Creighton strengthens our workforce. It enriches our communities. It forms graduates dedicated to making a difference."
The opening of the Creighton Quad represents an aspirational vision for the University’s Omaha campus and the students who will experience it for years to come. As Creighton continues to grow, the Creighton Quad will serve as a central gathering place where Bluejays will form bonds allowing them to flourish and thrive.
