Mid-America Center — Site of Anime NebrasKon 2026
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Thousands of anime, gaming and comic fans packed the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs this weekend as Anime NebrasKon ran from Friday through Sunday, filling the venue with cosplay, arcades, board games and celebrity Q&As. Hundreds of vendors lined the halls for the three-day convention, which organizers describe as a celebration of pop culture and the community built around it.
As the convention’s original chair, Becky Potter, said the goal behind the event has stayed consistent even as it has grown. Potter said organizers wanted to offer people “a haven” and “something fun that people can look forward to,” according to the station’s report. She also noted that about 35% of people who attended the convention a decade earlier still come to the event, a sign of the loyalty the event has built among Omaha-area fans
A Three-Day Lineup Built on Variety
Anime NebrasKon bills itself as offering more than 100 activities across its three-day schedule, according to the convention’s own website, animenebraskon.com. That lineup includes an arcade, a large vendors and artists area, an extensive board game room, cosplay, celebrity Q&As, karaoke, dances with live DJs and anime viewing rooms, per the same site. The convention also describes itself as the largest and longest-running anime convention in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area.
The Vendors’ Hall itself is hosted on the Mid-America Center’s arena floor, the convention’s vendors hall FAQ page states. Booths measured 10 by 10 feet and came with one 8-by-2.5-foot table and two chairs per booth ordered, while vendors received three Vendors Hall badges per order and artists received two. This year’s application window for the Vendor’s Hall and Artist Alley ran from March 16 through April 20, according to the same FAQ page.
Steady Growth Since Its Early Years
The convention has come a long way from its modest beginnings. Organizers say Anime NebrasKon grew from 300 attendees in 2004 to 7,856 attendees in 2022, when the event also counted 175 staff members and 135 vendors, per animenebraskon.com. That 2022 attendance figure was echoed in earlier coverage from KETV, which reported more than 7,500 attendees that year and noted organizers’ plans to keep growing. The station also reported that since 2008, Anime NebrasKon has raised more than $100,000 for charities, including a recent year that benefited Children’s Nebraska.
That charitable streak has included specific fundraising pushes tied to the hospital. According to 3 News Now, funds from an upcoming charity auction would go toward purchasing advanced 3-D printing materials for use at Children’s Nebraska, with organizers setting a $50,000 fundraising goal for that effort.
Family-Friendly Access and a Growing Legacy
Families are part of the convention’s draw too. Children age 5 and under can attend free with an adult ticket purchase and supervision, per the registration page on animenebraskon.com. The event has also shown staying power over time: in 2024, the Mid-America Center hosted the 20th annual Anime Nebraskon, which Omaha.com reported opened on a Friday and continued through the weekend, drawing thousands of fans in elaborate cosplay. KETV described a prior year’s event as featuring a Q&A, games, vendors and costumes — a formula organizers have clearly stuck with as the convention has expanded into one of the region’s bigger annual gatherings for pop culture fans.
Council Bluffs/Greater Omaha-Fun & Entertainment
