Memorial Stadium – Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers

Memorial Stadium : Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers

“Through these gates pass the greatest fans in college football” written in script along the rotunda part of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska. They might just be right. Memorial Stadium has been the epicenter of Husker football since 1923. They love their Cornhusker football here as the team is approaching their 300th straight sold out game. Continuously upgrading of the stadium has produced a venue that meshes both historical value and modern amenities. When you think about the culture of Nebraska football you think of Tom Osborne (the current NU athletic director has his statue in front of the north side of the stadium), a dominating running game and the sea of red. A trip to Lincoln in the fall and you will witness the above in their glory.

• Built in 1923 with an original capacity of about 31,000
• Expanded six times and currently has a seating capacity of 81,067
• Modeled after Ohio Stadium in Columbus (including a rotunda)
• Permanent lights were installed in 1997
• Largest crowd to watch at Memorial Stadium was set in 2008 with 85,831 in attendance
• New for 2009 is a set of new reply boards and LED ribbons
• Current playing surface is Field Turf (the first team to use Field Turf in division 1)
• The playing surface is named after Tom Osborne
• There are currently five HD video screens in Memorial Stadium (including a 33′ x 120′ board)
• Each corner of the stadium has inspirational sayings from NU professor Hartley Alexander

User Notes: Tailgating in Nebraska, despite the fans best efforts is mediocre for such a high profile school (space is limited). Some of the tailgating spots ban alcohol (on campus), other parts open containers are the norm: The greatest fans in college football pretty much means that they are respectful of the visiting squad and appreciate opposing fans, it’s a reputation that the NU faithful take seriously: Most of that corn that is grown by local farmers goes towards feeding cattle, that is then turned into beef which is the food of preference for the throngs of cornhusker fans: Stadium is located near downtown Lincoln.

Posted in NCAA Football