OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Celebrating great athleticism is going to look a lot different this year. Since 1,300 swimmers qualify for the trials, some rules had to be changed.
To ensure safety, the CHI Health Center seating map has been reconfigured, reducing daily session attendance capacity to around 50%.
"About 9,000 people can come to the arena and see the event, tickets are being sold in pods, socially-distanced pods of two, four and six with ticket purchasers being able to buy six tickets maximum for each event on a first-come-first-serve basis," said Kristyna Engdahl with Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority.
Tickets purchased for last year’s U.S. Olympic Swim Trials will be refunded and resold for the trials this summer, according to officials.
Last year’s swim trials were rescheduled due to COVID-19. In January 2021, an announcement was made that the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials would be split into two events. Wave I is taking place June 4-7 and Wave II from June 13-20.
Douglas Parrott with the Omaha Sports Commission said these changes were necessary.
"We couldn't have 1,300 people in there because every swimmer, before a race, has to warm up and has to cool down. When you have 1,300 swimmers, that's a lot of people in two pools. By cutting it in 600 in the first wave and 700 in the second, we can make it work," said Parrott.
Engdahl wants to reassure the public, the event will still be exciting.
"We think the energy is going to be the exact same," said Engdahl.
Because the June 2020 trials had already sold tickets in excess of 90% capacity, a complete refund of tickets and re-sale will begin starting Friday, April 16.
Those who originally purchased tickets in 2020 will have two exclusive pre-sale opportunities for both all session (Wave II only) and daily tickets. Daily tickets will allow access to morning preliminaries and evening finals on a single day, according to a press release.
See below for the ticketing timeline.
Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster or through any Ticketmaster outlet.
Additionally, tickets can be purchased at the CHI Health Center Omaha box office.
Hotel reservations for the first wave will open to teams and the general public on April 7 by visiting this website.
Local county health regulations require masks inside the arena at all times.
Although strongly encouraged, neither a vaccine nor a negative COVID-19 test will be required for spectators.
For more information, visit this website.
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