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Memorial Stadium

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Cisco

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omaha.com

McKewon: Husker football's sellout streak is in trouble, and that could be good news

Perhaps raising money for a much-needed overhaul of Memorial Stadium, including bigger seats with backs and cupholders, will be easier if the sellout streak lapses.
omaha.com omaha.com


A good number of stadiums around the country have been downsized because of trends towards lower attendance. Athletic Departments are shifting to focus on overall fan experience as opposed to how many fans they can cram into the stands.

UNC dropped the capacity of Keenan Stadium by about 10-12,000 a few years ago. It went from low 60's to low 50's by making every seat in the house have chair backs. Not only did it improve the fan experience, but the move fits their needs better and it looks much better on TV. All of the seats are blue so looks more full even if it's not full.

It may be a good move to do something similar.
 

I believe there are plans to reduce again. I believe there is some work being planned in the South Endzone. Who knows with a new administration in place now things may change, but I wouldn't be surprised to see another 5K or so lose their seats.
 
Don't believe they will consider dropping capacity until the streak is offically over. If it's dropped from 85,000 to say 70,000 it will cost the program roughly 3 million a year. That's still a lot of money to give up if a program doesn't have to imo. Not saying it's not a good idea to make the place more fan friendly. Would they raise ticket prices to compensate for the loss of capactity? Just saying....
 



Every seat at Cardinal Stadium here in Louisville is an actual seat with a back. I will say it's a better experience than cramming into bleachers. With the continued improvement in tv's and all of us having busier schedules I do see making changes a necessity.

U of L also serves alcohol at all events. They don't only sell beer, but have bourbon bars available as well. As someone who's been to many games there I'll say watch what you wish for. I've probably been overserved myself at a couple of games and it definitely is more of an NFL experience than the college experience you get currently in Lincoln.
 
cardcityHusker said:
Every seat at Cardinal Stadium here in Louisville is an actual seat with a back. I will say it's a better experience than cramming into bleachers. With the continued improvement in tv's and all of us having busier schedules I do see making changes a necessity.

U of L also serves alcohol at all events. They don't only sell beer, but have bourbon bars available as well. As someone who's been to many games there I'll say watch what you wish for. I've probably been overserved myself at a couple of games and it definitely is more of an NFL experience than the college experience you get currently in Lincoln.
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Anyone that has been to a game in lincoln knows there is plenty of booze in the stadium by the shooter bottles that accumulate in the bathrooms. It would be a good way to increase revenue, but it's definitely a double edged sword.
 
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Forgetting the sellout/attendance numbers part for a second, ditching the bench seats for real spots that hold the entirety of a 21st century keister is a must.

Definitely improves the fan experience/demand for tickets as well if you have a real place to sit. Anyone know offhand how many of the current setup are those flat slabs?
 
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Let it be by the code said:
Anyone that has been to a game in lincoln knows there is plenty of booze in the stadium by the shooter bottles that accumulate in the bathrooms
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I've been to many games in Lincoln. Trust me, it's different. It's the difference between those people willing to "smuggle" things in vs. the entire stadium being "allowed" to have it. I would assume it's the difference between a Husker game and a Chiefs game. I wouldn't take my kids to U of L games when they were young nor would I have taken them to a Bengals game. I happily took them to NU games.

I'm not saying I'm 100% against it, but it will change the experience.

I realize NU and U of L aren't the same, but it makes a big difference IMO.
 




I had tickets in the north end zone from 1993-2011. When they added the upper section, there were no additional restrooms or entrances which created an absolute mess. The scoreboard was added directly above us so there was no benefit there. Well I did get to see some really good football during that time, and the end zone was great to see plays develop, I don’t miss cramming myself into a seat. I would totally be in favor of reducing seats, adding to your backs, and more accessibility to improve the fan experience.
 
the fountainhead said:
I had tickets in the north end zone from 1993-2011. When they added the upper section, there were no additional restrooms or entrances which created an absolute mess. The scoreboard was added directly above us so there was no benefit there. Well I did get to see some really good football during that time, and the end zone was great to see plays develop, I don’t miss cramming myself into a seat. I would totally be in favor of reducing seats, adding to your backs, and more accessibility to improve the fan experience.
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Took my 4 in the north endzone to the east balcony. still have bleachers seats but just a better experience overall.
 
The "bench seat" size at DONU has not changed since I started going in 1964.

The average keister size in Nebraska has most certainly changed since that time as my seat had become increasingly uncomfortable.

Anyone "in the know" bought the portable seat back to stake out room for himself/herself. Don't know if they still rent those as I quit going to games about 15 years ago.

Regardless of the sell out streak issues, DONU would be well served to improve the game experience as we older, "die hard" fans who will sit on the benches, are indeed dying.

If they are to get replacement young fans they will need to improve the game experience with bench seats, better restrooms, libations, and other amenities that these fans will expect, not corn liquor in a brown bag :).

I think that the new AD is up to this challenge.

GBR
 
We have a couple of movie theaters in town - Regal and Cinemark. They both renovated around the same time and Regal opted for those rocking style chairs that can sway back and forth a bit. Cinemark went the whole nine yards and installed oversized recliners with massive cupholders. They dropped capacity in each auditorium significantly. They also lowered their prices and are cheaper than Regal.

It's pretty obvious when you attend either theater that nobody really goes to Regal as much. Occasionally, they have a film Cinemark does not, or a more advantageous show time, but nobody wants to pay more money for crappier seats.
 



While we are at it perhaps downsizing the ticket cost would be nice. Price is out of reach for many. Maybe we have to put this three game package into effect not due to lack of interest, but due to the unaffordable cost of season tickets to many who would otherwise be interested. As for the SM article he talks of improving the experience. He is an old man like me. I can tell you my grandchildren love the experience and would gladly sit on a bench seat for every game if I would only by them tickets. Perhaps we need to begin to listen to the average Nebraskan rather than the old fat boosters and writers who seem out of tough with the wants and needs of the average guy. I am in my sixties, and sit on a bench seat for every game. I will admit I rent the seat backs, but don’t want a costly renovation that reduces the number of seats and raises the ticket price making seeing a game for the average guy unattainable.
 
Bench type seating and the resulting crowding at Memorial Stadium is exactly why we no longer attend games in person.
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Suggestion to rent the seat backs just makes the experience for those sitting behind those things more miserable especially if one is over 6.0 feet. I think reduction as suggested by Sam McKewon should be seriously considered/implemented.
 

While I agree that chair backs and a reduction in seats is a good idea, I just wanna ask, has anyone actually sat in the chair backs at Memorial in the upper west stadium? I have. Let me tell you, they aren't actually that comfortable because they were put into a small footprint. Having gone to tons of games at New Mile High Stadium it's not even comparable in comfort. Not sure there's much they can do about that. I'm also completely for tearing down south stadium and starting over there. I know it wouldn't be easy because it couldn't be completed in a year, but it needs to happen.
 
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