New cell network in Memorial Stadium aims to boost service for Husker fans

Nebraska Athletics will bring a plan to partner with Verizon Wireless to build a $25 million to $30 million distributed antenna system (DAS) inside the 100-year-old facility to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents next week.

If approved, Verizon would install hardware to stretch cell coverage to 95% of Memorial Stadium, including for 90,000 fans sitting in the bowl, as well as cellphone users in the back of house, team areas, concourses and administrative areas.

Keith Mann, a spokesperson for the Athletic Department, said cell service — or a lack thereof — was “one of the top three complaints” registered by Husker fans in a survey about how to improve the game day experience.

Nearly a quarter of the 21,000 Husker fans that responded to a 2021 survey said wireless or mobile connectivity could be improved inside Memorial Stadium.

The lack of cellphone service has been a long-standing issue at Memorial Stadium. Responding to complaints by fans in 2012, NU leased space to Verizon to install a carrier-led distributed antenna system, which was exclusive to their customers.

The new DAS, which won’t cost the university a dime, will allow other cellphone providers to lease space on the network to serve their customers inside the stadium, Mann said.

In addition to building the system, Verizon will be responsible for operating costs and capital expenditures for an initial 10-year term. Verizon and NU could extend that agreement in two five-year increments, the agreement states.

According to the term sheet set to go before regents on June 20, Verizon will also be required to “work in good faith with other wireless carriers” to coordinate their connections to the DAS when it goes into service next year.

The project comes as NU is moving forward on a $450 million renovation of Memorial Stadium aimed at improving the gameday experience for Husker fans by creating more comfortable seats, easier navigation through the stadium, and providing better amenities.

Last month, Husker Athletic Director Troy Dannen told reporters fans should experience improved Wi-Fi within the several areas of the stadium during the 2024 football season as part of an initial $45 million of work being done this offseason.

Mann said the completion timeline for that project, which is separate from the new effort to improve cellphone service, has not been finalized and could be done in conjunction with other stadium renovations.