The Titan House

Last night I made reference to the Titan House, but I wouldn’t be doing it justice with just a brief mention. So here’s a little more about what has become a very popular place for Titan fans in Omaha.

The Titan House sits literally right across the street from Rosenblatt Stadium, and is a place where Titan alumni and fans can congregate and hang out before and after games.

The two-story house is decked out in Titan signs and gear, sports four TVs (all tuned to college baseball, of course), including a 62-inch model under a tent out back, and is stockpiled with free food and drinks.

Fans spend their time there swapping stories about their favorite Titan moments, creating signs and banners to take to the game, watching college baseball and eating barbecue (yesterday we had hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, chicken, beef and anything else you can think to throw on the grill).

I spoke to Carlos Leija, executive director of alumni relations for the university, who told me the idea for the house was born in 2001 when Leija came to Omaha during the College World Series and saw Titan fans scattered all over the town with no central meeting place to gather.

“People were tailgating in the parking lot, they were in bars and in hotels, and I told myself if I ever come back, I’d try to do something about that,” Leija said.

So in 2003, when the Titans returned to Omaha, Leija found a house to rent on 13th Street. Word quickly spread, and Titan fans showed up in droves.

In 2004, the Titans were again back Omaha and so was the Titan House, albeit in a slightly different locale. Titan House moved a few houses down the street to what is now its current location.

It continues to thrive (on game days the house can draw several hundreds of fans), and Leija says he hopes the house and the fun atmosphere it brings will become a staple in Omaha just as the Titans have.

“The people who’ve come back from ’03 and ’04 are always so excited and grateful (for the house),” Leija said. “The alumni are really stepping up and we’ve seen contributions coming in for baseball just because of this house. It’s just brought about a great sense of good will. It’s been a win, win, win (situation).”