Forgotten Omaha is a series of caches that will take you to the locations of iconic Omaha landmarks that have given way to progress, redevelopment, and the changing needs of a growing city.
Omaha Municipal Stadium was built on this site in 1948. The original design had 10,000 seats and cost $770,000. Former amateur and semi-pro baseball player Johnny Rosenblatt consulted on the project and selected this hilltop site. Omaha first hosted the NCAA baseball College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in 1950, and the series has remained in Omaha ever since. Rosenblatt Stadium was also home to the Kansas City Royals’ AAA affiliate Omaha Royals from 1969 until the re-named Omaha Storm Chasers moved to their own ballpark in 2011.
Over the years Rosenblatt Stadium was upgraded and seating capacity increased to more than 23,000. Even with its expanded capacity and technology upgrades, by the late 2000’s the aging stadium had reached its limits. As part of a deal to secure a 25-year contract extension with the NCAA, and against the wishes of loyal Rosenblatt supporters, the city of Omaha made the difficult decision to build a brand-new ballpark. The final CWS was played at Rosenblatt in June of 2010 and in 2011 the event moved downtown to TD Ameritrade Park.
To preserve Rosenblatt Stadium’s history, the Infield at the Zoo Park opened in 2013. Built with private donations for around $600,000, the Little League-sized infield features benches, seats, and signage from the original Rosenblatt Stadium. Bricks from Rosenblatt’s entrance line the concourse of the miniature field and the structure is painted the same shade of blue as the old stadium. Home plate is situated in the exact spot where Rosenblatt’s home plate was, brick pillars mark the location of the original bases, and the yellow foul poles still stand down the first and third base lines.
This cache is a field puzzle. The posted coordinates take you to the center of the field. Explore the park to find the answers to the questions below and solve for the final coordinates. All answers can be found within a 60 foot radius of the posted coordinates. Cache is a camouflaged matchstick container.
N 41 13.ABC
W 095 55.DEF
A: Omaha World Herald sportswriter Steve Pivovar covered __00 consecutive CWS games
B: Right center field, first row, eighth seat from the left
C: John Sullivan managed the Omaha Royals to the American Association Pennant in 19__7
D: Commemorative bricks under the arched ROSENBLATT sign: #1 Fan J. Ziegler’s seats were in Section 2__, Row F
E: The Oklahoma State Cowboys won __ championships on this field
F: Total number of yellow pennants above the dugouts