The aging Omaha Civic Auditorium, which once housed several sports teams, will shutter in 2014 after losing its tenants to the nearby Ralston Arena.

City leaders debated the fate of the 10,960-capacity convention center for some time, and a six-month study completed last year determined that basic upkeep would cost $29 million.

Factor in competition from the 18,200-capacity CenturyLink Center Omaha, 24,000-capacity TD Ameritrade Park and nearby Ralston’s brand-new, 4,500-capacity arena, and officials apparently thought it was time to throw in the towel.

The Omaha Civic once housed the Omaha Lancers hockey team, Viper soccer and Beef football teams, but lost all tenants to the $32 million Ralston Arena this year.

A spokeswoman for Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle’s office told the local World-Herald the closure was planned since the city council rejected another study that proposed leaving the facility’s 2,257-capacity Music Hall intact.

The city is searching for developers interested in razing and redeveloping the property, the paper said.