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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Demolition has begun on a 62-year-old auditorium in Omaha that has been the scene of political rallies, graduation ceremonies, concerts and sporting events.
Crews began tearing down the Civic Auditorium on Tuesday morning.
"There won't be a big implosion," said Brook Bench, director of Omaha Parks and Recreation. "They'll start taking it down and separating things out and hauling will start taking place."
The Omaha City Council approved a $3.1 million contract with Illinois-based DeNovo Constructors Inc. in February to demolish the building.
The project was stalled in March after the contractor encountered financial issues. The city ended the contract and made a claim to the bonding company.
The company that holds the bond then chose St. Louis-based Spirtas Wrecking Co. to perform the demolition. Spirtas' site superintendent, Steve Gaines, oversaw the demolition of Mile High Stadium near downtown Denver and the old St. Louis Arena, known as the Checkerdome.
Bench said Spirtas has the scrapping rights for the demolished materials.
Last week, workers from Lincoln-based New Horizons removed asbestos from the downtown Omaha arena, concert hall and exhibition space.
"There was a lot of years where I was very young and just enjoying the shows behind the scenes, and then getting involved for 28 years now directly with the events," said Mike Mancuso, whose family put on events at the Civic for 38 years.
The convention center bears the name of Mancuso's uncle.
"For us, it's personal," he said.
Bench said the building is expected to be completely demolished around the end of the year and that Spirtas will finish grading the ground in the spring.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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