Just because something is fun doesn’t mean it isn’t fundamental. “Play” can play a crucial role in a population’s well-being. However, these attractions are more than enrichment for residents—they are dynamic experiences that draw visitors from near and far, energizing the local economy and redrawing the map of where a good time can be found. These new ventures in Sarpy County are turning the community into a destination, where the future of entertainment is being created.
“When we give tours, I’m seeing eyes light up each time we round a corner because another new activity is revealed,” Kevin McCarty, Vice President of Business Development at Smash Park in La Vista, said of all the surprises that await visitors. “It’s an awful lot of, wow!” Smash Park’s La Vista location opened in 2024 as their third location. The Smash Park complex at the Southport Development in La Vista houses multiple levels with pickleball, cornhole, darts, arcade games, axe throwing and more on offer as well as a selection of specialty cocktails, local craft brews and a menu of scratch-driven food.
The first one was established in Des Moines in 2018 and though Smash Park’s entertainment offerings evolved to new heights of entertainment, it all started with pickleball. Though it’s now known as the fastest growing sport in the country, back then it was still known as an older person’s game, if it was known at all. The ability to play pickleball at an older age is one of the qualities that grew its popularity in the first place, however, Smash Park saw the potential for interest across all demographics. “When Smash Park started it was about educating people on getting involved with the game,” McCarty said. “We modified our model to add event space, arcades and more to get different groups in there as well as bring a new audience to the sport.” Smash Park was perfectly positioned to maximize the sport’s spike in popularity and leverage it into creating a dynamic business model where memories and bonds can be made over a wide range of activities. McCartey describes a unique atmosphere that appeals to locals looking for a place to drop in for dinner or drinks on the patio as well as visitors from the other side of Omaha seeking an entertainment destination and planning an outing. “It’s a destination spot but we’re also a local spot.”
Its highly visible location right off the interstate was attractive but it was more than simple geography that brought Smash Park to Sarpy. “You can have the most ideal location in the world but if the community, the city, organizations like the chamber and the infrastructure aren’t there, then you’re not set up for success.”
La Vista attracted another dazzling new destination for entertainment across town with The Astro, a world-class entertainment venue with an indoor theater and outdoor amphitheater. The opportunity to create and design venue operations from scratch attracted the talents of Jane Luneau, General Manager of the Astro. Her career in venue management sent her across the country from the iconic Alamodome in Texas to the Blue Arena in Colorado. She was inspired to pursue her career by a lifelong love of live music, a passion that endures even when it’s not all glitz and glamour. An extraordinary amount of work goes into opening a new facility like The Astro, “but it has truly been the most rewarding, eye-opening, challenging, and exhilarating experience of my life and I cannot wait to see the name we create for ourselves in the years to come.”
If their first year of operation is any indication, The Astro is destined for big things. Many venues claim the tagline of “something for everyone” but Luneau has worked to truly deliver. “We have everything from rising hip-hop and country acts that pull the teen to twenty-somethings crowds like Jessie Murph, Bryce Vine, Ryan Upchurch, and Ian Munsick, to legendary rockers that their parents and grandparents want to see, like Slash, Ringo Starr, and Chicago,” she said and cited Goo Goo Dolls, The Wallflowers, and Gin Blossoms as personal favorite acts to have played The Astro.
The versatility of having indoor and outdoor space also allows them to host acts and events that fall outside of the typical concert. The Astro has hosted comedians as well as tours of live podcasts which continue to grow in popularity. The Astro visibility went astronomical when they got the inquiry to host a campaign rally for Vice Presidential candidate, Tim Walz. The ask came about 72 hours prior to the day. “It was a round-the-clock effort from our team, but we welcomed the challenge and opportunity to showcase the venue on a national level,” she said. The event pulled record attendance for their indoor theater and thousands lined up in the overflow viewing area in the amphitheater. “It was an incredible feeling to see The Astro on all major news networks across the country,” she said of the unique event. “The opportunity to be a tiny footnote in history does not come around often!”
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