Omaha Exploration

Stadium View Sports Cards was considered to be the epicenter of the College World Series when it was played in South Omaha. Located at 13th and B Streets, the building was constructed in 1895. It served as a neighborhood grocery store for decades before Municipal Stadium was built across the street.

By 1915 Joseph Lacina, a Bohemian immigrant who was a butcher by trade, operated Lacina Grocery and Meat from this building. The family lived in the rear portion of the building which had a full basement, double garage and various outbuildings. Not long after Joseph passed away in 1947 the neighborhood changed with the construction of the stadium and the transition of Riverview Park into Henry Doorly Zoo.

By that time, its location along South 13th Street no longer made sense as a grocery store. In the early 1950s it had become boat retail store called Kitboats. From the store you could purchase your own kitboat – a boat that you could assemble yourself with pre-cut parts along with and instructions.

The building doesn’t show in the archives much after Kitboat closed in the 1960s until it was purchased by Omaha attorney Greg Pivovar in 1992. In the building, he found the perfect place to open his memorabilia store.

An avid sports card collector and the brother to Omaha World-Herald sports writer Steven Pivovar, Greg was involved in card shows as far back as the 1970s. He used the building to showcase his collectibles including signed baseballs, pennants, magazines, hats, t-shirts, posters, baseball cards and so much more.

Stadium View took on a life of its own and was less a retail store and more of a CWS museum where Greg was known to share the history of the game with visiting CWS fans that found their way into his shop. With just one bar located nearby, he wasn’t shy about giving away cans of beer to adults that walked through the door. He estimates that over the years he has given away 75,000 beers.

Greg was dubbed the ambassador of Omaha by national sports reporters and his red, white and blue building was considered the most hospitable place at the old CWS. So beloved among fans, he even married an out-of-town couple in his store. For his part, Greg said that it was more about having fun and honoring the game than it was about selling merchandise. He just hoped to make enough money to pay the bills in the store that only opened during the college baseball championship. Between 500 and 1,000 fans would visit his during that time.

The move of the CWS downtown marked the end of an era. The carnival-like atmosphere along 13th Street disappeared and while Greg rented space in the Tip Top building during the 2011 CWS, he opted not to relocate downtown permanently. Instead, he continued to open his shop on 13th Street even as business diminished. He continues to greet fans who make their way down to the shop either on their way to the zoo, snag a beer while checking out his vast collection or just to say hi and remember what was.

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