How did we get to $32 million?

The first thing to know is that nobody particularly likes this number, except that it is better than $35, $40 million or more. Everyone would prefer it to be $10, $15 or $20 million, built and done, and move on. However, that is just not the situation. Some key points: 

– A Catholic Church is not built to be used for a few decades, it is built to be used for a century or more. We have spoken with many other Newman Centers about their design and building experiences and every one of them…every one…complains “they built too small.” The reason this keeps happening is that none of us can truly wrap our minds around the number of youth currently pouring into the Catholic faith. Every knowledgeable Newman Center expert has told us to not build a chapel that seats less than 500 but our chapel design is at 300 seats because we are trying to balance.

– We used data to make decisions about how much space we need. We have 400 young people in our programs now and know what space we need. We designed the new church facility based on these demands, plus 30% growth. There is not one inch of space in the design that has not been agonized over and debated at length. 

– Why are we building a 108 foot steeple, with real bells in it? The answer is branding. Branding can make rational, mature adults do things that surprise even them. Branding is powerful. But we are branding for salvation, we are branding for eternity. We want to “brand” this building so that every person on the UNK campus and all around the area ask themselves every time they see the steeple or hear the bells: why am I here? What does God want of me? What truly matters?

– We have done our homework and know exactly what recent and past churches and projects cost to build. But times are different. COVID happened. Tariffs happened. The conflict with Iran is happening. The simple truth is that the cost right now to build what we should for this new Newman Center is $32 million. A century ago in 1926, our forefathers began construction of the cathedral in Grand Island. That building cost $300-500k to build, but 100 years later that same building is the center of unity in our diocese, the seat of our successor to the apostles, and the place where all of our new priests are ordained. Inflation is only an earthly irritant, not the story of salvation.