Plans for Nebraska‘s $450 million renovation project to Memorial Stadium have changed, according to a statement from Husker athletic director Troy Dannen.
The biggest piece of news is that South Stadium, which former athletic director Trev Alberts had planned to tear down after the 2024 football season, will not be demolished. Instead, focus will be on renovating the East and West Stadiums first, with a target date for work beginning no earlier than after the 2025 season.
South Stadium will still need to be renovated, but there is not yet a concrete plan for what that renovation will look like, or a timeline for when it will begin. Unlike the East and West Stadiums, South Stadium will rely on public and private funding.
“During meetings on Thursday with committees of the Board of Regents, we discussed Memorial Stadium improvements and our intent to modify the original timeline and project plans,” Dannen said in the statement. “We are all aligned on the need to modernize our aging stadium. But as we have said, any work we do needs to follow our guiding principles.
“First, it needs to help us win. Second, it needs to advance our goals for acquisition and retention of talent. Third, and equally importantly, it must preserve our financial stability – one of the greatest assets of Husker Athletics.
“With that in mind, as we shared with the regents, South Stadium will not be torn down following the 2024 season. Instead, we will turn our immediate focus to designing and planning improvements for the East and West Stadiums, with a target to begin work on the East and West no earlier than after the 2025 season. South Stadium renovations will remain within the scope of the overall project, but there is no timeline for when that work would begin.
Nebraska and Dannen also communicated to the Board of Regents that they are not seeking approval right now for any work beyond the upgrades to Phase I, which were approved last October. Moving past PhaseI would require adequate funding.
“No further construction work will occur until we bring detailed plans and funding back to the Board,” Dannen said. “Our financial stability is a great credit to the work of previous leaders who operated with great fiscal integrity, as well as the generosity and loyalty of Husker fans who have invested in our programs and student-athletes for decades. In this rapidly changing world of college athletics, it’s more important than ever that we maintain that distinct competitive advantage.”
According to media reports, there are plans to add chairbacks and other amenities — possibly catered buffet meals to higher-paying fans — to the East and West Stadiums, which would reduce capacity, reseat fans, create a different price tag for that seat and require premium seat licenses. Any time there’s a reseat, fans need to be notified a year in advance.
Plans to improve Memorial Stadium’s WiFi capabilities are expected to be completed by the start of the upcoming 2024 season.
Using the athletic department’s funds wisely is a major focus for Dannen, who according to reports said there’s potential for power conference programs, like Nebraska, to have $20 million reserved each year to pay student-athletes as in-house name, image and likeness becomes more of a possible reality.
One way to generate more revenue would be to sell alcohol at football games in Memorial Stadium. Alcohol is not served at university-owned facilities. In April, Nebraska’s Board of Regents approved the sale of alcohol at Haymarket Park, which is partly owned by . According to reports, Dannen said Nebraska baseball’s last 12 home games at Haymarket Park made $12,000 in sales per game.
In non-football news, Nebraska intends its new track facility, being built near the Devaney Center, to be completed as soon as possible. According to reports, the facility is expected to have 2,500 permanent seats. Dannen wants to push to get that project completed because the Huskers will host the Big Ten outdoor meet in 2026.
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