Venue News & Notes: Swimming Back In Nebraska

Officials from USA Swimming and the Omaha Sports Commission announced that the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming will return to Omaha, Neb., in 2012. The competition will take place from June 25 to July 2 in a temporary indoor pool at Qwest Center Omaha. The competition dates for the 2012 Trials were developed through consultation with the USA Swimming National Team, the United States Olympic Committee, the Omaha Sports Commission, NBC, College World Series of Omaha, Inc., the NCAA, ESPN and Qwest Center Omaha (MECA)…

…San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said there won’t be a vote this year on moving the Oakland A’s to the city. After ongoing conversations with Lew Wolff, co-owner of the A’s, Reed said the A’s co-owner wants the territorial rights issue resolved before he moves ahead with the ballot measure. Giants own MLB’s territorial rights to the city. “Right now we are looking at November 2010,” Reed said…

…Armed with a set of concessions wrung from state officials this week for his Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, the developer Bruce C. Ratner faces what may be his most daunting challenge. He is trying to raise more than $500 million over the next four months to build the $4.9 billion project’s centerpiece: the most expensive basketball arena in the country. Mr. Ratner, chief executive of Forest City Ratner, the company that is to build the development, still must get final state approval and withstand any new lawsuits, while selling about $586 million in arena bonds by Dec. 31 in order to qualify for tax-exempt status…

…WAC basketball coaches got the neutral site they coveted for their conference tournaments, but the real winner in playing the 2011 and 2012 events in Las Vegas could be the fans. “I think it’s an opportunity for our people to travel because Las Vegas is a destination area,” Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said. And the fans are the ones being asked to make sure the men’s and women’s tournaments are a financial success. The WAC is counting on selling out the 7,500-seat Orleans Arena…

…The SEC basketball tournaments won’t be in North Little Rock anytime soon. Alltel Arena has hosted the women’s tournament three times in the past nine years, but the conference announced its sites for the next five years and North Little Rock did not make the cut. The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., will host the tournament next season and then in 2013 and 2014, while the Sommet Center in Nashville will play host in 2011 and 2012…