LINCOLN — Husker athletics is revealing more information as to what it will charge for people to rent out its premier spaces for corporate gatherings, weddings and other events.

And the department is hoping new marketing will bolster venue interest from prospective brides to international pop stars and country acts.

“A bucket list item for me would be Taylor Swift,” said Arek Olson, Nebraska Athletics associate athletic director of special events.

While there are no conversations or any such performances on the books, Olson acknowledged the sky – and a 90,000 person capacity – is the limit.

“I think there’s some really cool ideas about using Memorial Stadium for something other than football. Think about international soccer, a boxing match. You have to think outside the box – maybe an ice hockey game, but the list goes on and on.”

Football First But More

Olson was clear that the historic stadium will always be football first, but his hunger of dreaming big for the NU stadium falls in line with what his boss, Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen, has in mind for the department’s financial future.

Olson was one of the first hires this year tied to Dannen’s vision of growing an entire team dedicated to operating events within the athletics venues. Olson helped lead the University of Arkansas’ venture to ticketing events, bringing in acts like Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks to its campus.

The University of Nebraska athletic department is betting big on its new events venture in order to generate more revenue. Dannen hasn’t shied away from the strategy in recent discussions during news conferences with Nebraska reporters. He said earlier this year that event planning would be a large focus in 2025.

“We have to start thinking entrepreneurially,” Dannen said in August about utilizing historic NU buildings for commercial venue spots. “The days are past when we can just rely on, ‘Hey, there’s seven home football games, and we’re going to sell out the stadium.’ We have to find new ways to generate revenue.”

New Website Up

On a new website launched in early December, Husker athletics revealed rental costs for Memorial Stadium’s Tom Osborne Field and several of the stadium’s club lounges. Just to utilize the 85,000 square-foot historic football field for a day’s rental, prospective brides or event bookers will pay $10,000. But the Huskers events team said other “additional items,” such as catering, florists and labor, would be billed separately.

While the $10,000 price tag might make some wallets yelp, the cost is fairly competitive compared to some wedding venues in Lincoln and Omaha, which can easily start at $5,000 to $8,000 just for an evening’s rental.

Olson said since the department launched its official venue website on Dec. 1, he’s received five or six wedding inquiries for Husker venue space. While a bride isn’t scheduled to walk down Memorial Stadium’s 50-yard line yet, the associate AD said he’s eager to help plan “something special” on the same field where Husker Heisman quarterback Eric Crouch in 2001 ran the explosive Black 41 Flash Reverse and Jordan Westerkamp caught a last-second, 49-yard Hail Mary catch in 2013 to beat Northwestern.

“We are open to anything and everything,” Olson said. “That’s where this initiative and this movement is going – to the untapped potential. We’re trying to tap into newer markets and to folks that want to have their engagement photos here or have a wedding rehearsal dinner. We’re super excited that we have an administration that wants us to go out and get creative and think outside the box.”

Other event spaces within Memorial Stadium are up for event rental use, too, including the West Stadium Club Lounge at $4,000 for four hours, the East Stadium Level 4 Club Lounge at $4,500 for four hours and the Skyline Club Lounge for $2,000 for four hours.

Husker athletics is making some of its other popular sports venues available, too, such as John Cook Arena, which, instead of having a rental price listed, directs people to fill out the Special Events Request Form to get more specific price costs. The Huskers’ Hibner Soccer Stadium and Bowlin Stadium are also open for event rentals for $4,000 per day.

Catering Service Offered

People looking to use the Huskers’ spaces for their private events will be required to use the university’s new contracted caterer Aramark. The team also is creating a preferred vendors list for clients, but specialty vendors will be allowed, as well, on a case-by-case basis.

Olson said that extra revenue off a site that would otherwise sit empty could make for lucrative financial opportunities for NU at a time when the university’s budget isn’t flush and college players expect thousands, if not millions, in compensation.

“All these Power Four and Power Five schools across the nation are facing budget challenges related to paying players,” Olson said. “It’s a new world of college athletics that we live in, and in order to stay competitive, you have to be able to recruit and retain the best of the best, and that means paying these players. And where does that money come from?”

Similar to what Dannen mentioned earlier this year, Olson said they can only increase ticket prices for fans to a certain extent. Now that colleges are in a financial pay-to-play race, athletic departments are rapidly transforming and stretching their venues to maximize potential profit.

The transformation of college facilities has ballooned in the NIL era with colleges expected to spend a record $2.5 billion in stadium renovations and upgrades this year, according to the Sports Business Journal. That’s about twice as much as colleges spent in 2024, and $14 billion is expected to be spent on college facility upgrades next year.

The Nebraska volleyball program is in the midst of capitalizing on its sellout streak and fan interest by expanding and reseating its John Cook Arena inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Newly released renderings reveal the renovation will heavily focus on premium seating, similar to what other college venues, like Ohio State’s football stadium and Murray State’s basketball arena, are undertaking.

A $450 million expansion was planned for Memorial Stadium, but that planning came to a halt earlier this year amid the university’s severe budget shortfall.

When asked about turning a historic site like Memorial Stadium into a more commercialized space, Olson said the department’s goal is to still uphold the legacy of Husker athletics.

But as the sports environment is quickly reshaping, Olson said the new model of college athletics is here to stay, and the Huskers should be in the front leading the transformation, similar to Nebraska’s world record-setting 2023 Volleyball Day in Nebraska match.

“We’re excited about it,” Olson said. “We’re presented with a challenge in college athletics. How are we going to be part of the solution? Either jump on the train or you hop off, and we’re super excited to be a part of this really groundbreaking and evolutionary story.”

Jackie Ourada is Nebraska Public Media News’ managing editor and also hosts All Things Considered. Read the article here: https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=177...