AD Dannen updates the future of the Memorial Stadium project

[The Impaler]

All options on the table are going to be painful. Whether that's nothing happens to south and the rest of the stadium continues to age, or they implode south and there is 2 years where fans are displaced, or finally the stadium is completely imploded and rebuilt on the same spot and games are played elsewhere for 3 years. All of these are very much less than ideal. My question is, where do you play in the meantime? KC? And what happens to all those businesses downtown in the meantime? How many don't make it? Can you retrofit Hawks field with temporary stands in the meantime and play there in front of 30k? Is there room anywhere on campus that you can build and retain the same general location?

 

[Flat Water]

All options on the table are going to be painful. Whether that's nothing happens to south and the rest of the stadium continues to age, or they implode south and there is 2 years where fans are displaced, or finally the stadium is completely imploded and rebuilt on the same spot and games are played elsewhere for 3 years. All of these are very much less than ideal. My question is, where do you play in the meantime? KC? And what happens to all those businesses downtown in the meantime? How many don't make it? Can you retrofit Hawks field with temporary stands in the meantime and play there in front of 30k? Is there room anywhere on campus that you can build and retain the same general location?

Northwestern is going to play most of its home games this year at its lacrosse stadium. Even with temporary seating added, the capacity is going to be ridiculously low. I don't think anything like that would be an option for Nebraska.

If we were to build a new stadium, I think we would have to choose a new location and continue to play home games at Memorial Stadium while the new stadium is being built. Perhaps we could find a new location on campus or downtown and tear down whatever is there now? I realize that's not an ideal option, but I don't know what else you could do. I don't see playing home games in KC. And when the new stadium is built, Memorial Stadium could be torn down and replaced with new buildings replacing whatever was torn down to build the new stadium.

When St. Louis built the new Busch Stadium almost twenty years ago, they basically built it in what used to be a parking lot across the street from the old Busch Stadium. They were able to do that without ever having to play in a temporary stadium. I think we would need to do something similar to that.

Ultimately, we need someone with a really deep pocket to come forward and fund this. But I don't know how we can continue putting band-aids on a 100-year-old stadium forever.

 

[MiniDisk]

Northwestern is going to play most of its home games this year at its lacrosse stadium. Even with temporary seating added, the capacity is going to be ridiculously low. I don't think anything like that would be an option for Nebraska.

If we were to build a new stadium, I think we would have to choose a new location and continue to play home games at Memorial Stadium while the new stadium is being built. Perhaps we could find a new location on campus or downtown and tear down whatever is there now? I realize that's not an ideal option, but I don't know what else you could do. I don't see playing home games in KC. And when the new stadium is built, Memorial Stadium could be torn down and replaced with new buildings replacing whatever was torn down to build the new stadium.

When St. Louis built the new Busch Stadium almost twenty years ago, they basically built it in what used to be a parking lot across the street from the old Busch Stadium. They were able to do that without ever having to play in a temporary stadium. I think we would need to do something similar to that.

Ultimately, we need someone with a really deep pocket to come forward and fund this. But I don't know how we can continue putting band-aids on a 100-year-old stadium forever.

zero chance they build new stadium, they just built the new student experience building that attached to the stadium. you dont spend 150 mill and then tear it down 5 yrs later.

but for giggles, lets say they do build one. baseball/softball is already talked about needing an update. those move over to innovation campus area freeing up that plot of land to build a new stadium and and its a bigger plot then what you have now.

what would be interesting is if they could eminent domain the north bottoms, move sports from the south of the railroad tracks to the north, then use the freed up space on the south sided to build a hospital for unmc. hello AAU its good to see you again..... but again, unmc is expanding majorly in omaha, so that aint happening either.......

 

[NUtronic]

what would be interesting is if they could eminent domain the north bottoms, move sports from the south of the railroad tracks to the north,

Razing the north bottoms for a new stadium to be located literally on the other side of the tracks is an interesting idea. The location next to campus/near the current stadium would be great. But urban renewal issues aside (it'd get rid of one of Lincoln's worst eyesores), the controversy of destroying homes for a sports facility would be too much for any politician. The land acquisition costs alone would be astronomical, even without factoring in the costs of the new stadium/demo'ing Memorial. ($3 billion-plus altogether?) Somewhere on the Innovation Campus would seem to be the only logistical possibility, but that cost, too, is likely a non-starter even if space could be found. Perhaps future reno's can modularize Memorial Stadium into four discrete structures, enabling each to be completely rebuilt independently and keeping the stadium viable indefinitely. (It's almost already in that sort of configuration.) But over time, even an incremental approach would wind up costing more than building a new stadium from scratch.

What is South Stadium's projected remaining lifespan? Given its age, structural integrity issues have got to be looming.

There are no clear solutions, and even if money weren't an issue (say with the whole price tag covered by a not-gonna-happen donation of Warren Buffett-type $), it'd still be hard. This is one daunting issue.

 

[Bigger Ed]

All options on the table are going to be painful. Whether that's nothing happens to south and the rest of the stadium continues to age, or they implode south and there is 2 years where fans are displaced, or finally the stadium is completely imploded and rebuilt on the same spot and games are played elsewhere for 3 years. All of these are very much less than ideal. My question is, where do you play in the meantime? KC? And what happens to all those businesses downtown in the meantime? How many don't make it? Can you retrofit Hawks field with temporary stands in the meantime and play there in front of 30k? Is there room anywhere on campus that you can build and retain the same general location?

Exactly right. So the concern now is which option can they "monetize."

 

[The Impaler]

Razing the north bottoms for a new stadium to be located literally on the other side of the tracks is an interesting idea. The location next to campus/near the current stadium would be great. But urban renewal issues aside (it'd get rid of one of Lincoln's worst eyesores), the controversy of destroying homes for a sports facility would be too much for any politician. The land acquisition costs alone would be astronomical, even without factoring in the costs of the new stadium/demo'ing Memorial. ($3 billion-plus altogether?) Somewhere on the Innovation Campus would seem to be the only logistical possibility, but that cost, too, is likely a non-starter even if space could be found. Perhaps future reno's can modularize Memorial Stadium into four discrete structures, enabling each to be completely rebuilt independently and keeping the stadium viable indefinitely. (It's almost already in that sort of configuration.) But over time, even an incremental approach would wind up costing more than building a new stadium from scratch.

What is South Stadium's projected remaining lifespan? Given its age, structural integrity issues have got to be looming.

There are no clear solutions, and even if money weren't an issue (say with the whole price tag covered by a not-gonna-happen donation of Warren Buffett-type $), it'd still be hard. This is one daunting issue.

I've advocated on here many times. Do south stadium. Then tear out the original risers and balcony on west stadium and rebuild this, modernizing all the concourses below etc. You can keep the exterior wall of the original stadium hidden in the new concourses. I think you could potentially do the stands over an offseason and the concessions and concourses catch up throughout the year. When that's done, you move to east and do the same thing. Then after all that you decide WTH to do with the eyesore that's north stadium.

 

[Bigger Ed]

I've advocated on here many times. Do south stadium. Then tear out the original risers and balcony on west stadium and rebuild this, modernizing all the concourses below etc. You can keep the exterior wall of the original stadium hidden in the new concourses. I think you could potentially do the stands over an offseason and the concessions and concourses catch up throughout the year. When that's done, you move to east and do the same thing. Then after all that you decide WTH to do with the eyesore that's north stadium.

So, do south stadium first, then adapt the rest to the newest part, instead of the other way around (adapting south to current east and west?)

 

[The Impaler]

So, do south stadium first, then adapt the rest to the newest part, instead of the other way around (adapting south to current east and west?)

Yep, get rid of the curvature on the sidelines from when there was a track, get the seats a bit closer, you can do a slightly steeper pitch and make it all one level where the was once a balcony. Can have multiple levels of concessions and entry/regress. Gets rid of the horrible obstructed views as well.

 

[TFrazier]

Very few schools built a new stadiums. New stadiums, only Minnesota, NW, Baylor, UThugs, Pitt, KU (kinda) .... that's about it. Though just the opposite pro stadiums.

The stadium in Lawrence has been leveled because I have seen it. It will be a new stadium.

 

[HuskerSuperGenius]

And more accounting nightmare, DONU's largest source of athletic funding appears to come from a source of deficit spending:

• The Big Ten paid out a little over $60 million per school in fiscal 2023 while running a deficit for the third consecutive year.

How can that work?

Who does the Big Ten think they are, politicians?

 

[BasilLongfellow]

My Idea

Alcohol Sales
A 5-7 year process of raising funds with 50% of all proceeds of Alcohol sales go towards a new stadium fund. As much as we all love the old place its nearing the end folks. I would love to see a 75,000 stadium with seat backs and better design all around

Ok fire away at me

Even if the margin on booze was 50%, an $8 beer would net, $4, setting aside $2.

To raise $500 million, they would have to sell 250 million beers.

That’s 4,464,285 beers per game over a 7 year period; or 49 beers per fan (assuming 90,000 fans) per game. Each fan would be spending $392 on beer per game.

I mean, I’m up for a challenge, but…..

 

[BasilLongfellow]

Lol, assuming a fan is in the stadium for three hours, they would have to smash one beer every 3 minutes and 40 seconds the entire time they were there.

 

[Huskerfan69]

From Feit's article:

That will still be the case.

Don't understand why a fat happy donor of substance will be more likely to donate to fix the parts of the stadium "they would never sit in."

sounds like a slanted article if you ask me.. I didn't read it, just saying that based on what you posted.

 

[NU_Alum]

Even if the margin on booze was 50%, an $8 beer would net, $4, setting aside $2.

To raise $500 million, they would have to sell 250 million beers.

That’s 4,464,285 beers per game over a 7 year period; or 49 beers per fan (assuming 90,000 fans) per game. Each fan would be spending $392 on beer per game.

I mean, I’m up for a challenge, but…..

Bring in Wade Boggs and I think we're off to a good start.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Lol, assuming a fan is in the stadium for three hours, they would have to smash one beer every 3 minutes and 40 seconds the entire time they were there.

The play is gonna hafta get a whole lot better, or a whole lot worse