Memorial Stadium Expansion Project Builds Momentum

If you haven’t been to the University of Nebraska city campus lately, a lot has changed. Since the Huskers announced the decision to go forward with the Memorial Stadium Expansion Project and to begin the Husker Nation Championship Drive in November of 2003, steady progress has been made, leading the way to beautiful and effective new training facilities and headquarters for all Husker athletic teams.

The $50 million Memorial Stadium Expansion Project on the Nebraska-Lincoln city campus includes the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center, the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex, and more than 6,000 new seats in the North Stadium.

Sampson Construction was selected as the Design-Builder for the project. In design-build projects the architects are contracted directly by the construction contractor that allows the construction progress to flow at an accelerated pace.

Championship Facilities are crucial for recruiting. The fact that Nebraska has begun this project, which will be completed in 2006, was already a key component for recruiting. In fact, numerous members of Coach Bill Callahan’s 2005 recruiting class, which ranked No. 1 in the nation by at least one publication, made mention of how important facilities were in their decisions to come to school.

Athletic Director Steve Pederson has assigned the task of overseeing the design and construction of Championship Facilities to Associate Athletic Director Boyd Epley. Epley is assisted by Director of Athletic Facilities Operations John Ingram.

Brad Muehling, an offensive lineman for the Husker football team from 1979 thru 1983, serves as the University Project Manager/Architect for the North Stadium Expansion Project. Muehling also served as Project Manager for the West Stadium Skybox addition, Haymarket Park and several other University projects. After graduating from Nebraska in 1985, Muehling worked in several architect’s offices before becoming a registered architect in 1993 and he has been a Project Manager in the University of Nebraska Facilities Management Department since 1995. Muehling represents the University interests on this project for contract administration and budget.

Before the ground-breaking ceremony took place on Aug. 10, 2004, the site had to be prepared, which meant the old fieldhouse and connecting indoor workout facilities in the North Stadium had to be removed. This was done with great care, as the current seating in the North Stadium will remain unharmed and will be available for seating throughout the construction process.

Also removed was the scoreboard on the top of North Stadium. A new scoreboard, which is not part of this $50 million building project, will be installed on the top of the North Stadium, and the speakers that were temporarily relocated on platforms on the east side of the stadium will be permanently installed on top of the new scoreboard.

Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center
After the north indoor workout facilities and the fieldhouse were removed in the summer of 2004, work began in earnest on the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center. The first steel was erected on the 260 pile caps in late September.

The Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center features an 80,000 square foot full-length indoor football/soccer field, which NU hopes to have completed by the time the football team begins practice this fall. The indoor fieldhouse will include two four-foot wide sprint lanes covered with a new turf made by FieldTurf called Hockey Turf. The balcony viewing area has seating for more than 100, while the field level has 500 bleacher seats.

The first stage of the fieldhouse construction is to complete the indoor practice field, while a 42,000 square feet Championship Wing is being constructed on the west side of the fieldhouse in the second stage of the construction process. The new wing is large enough to seat 1,700 for clinics and events and can be divided into three separate areas, all of which will be wired for audio and visual effects. The Championship Wing will feature an international-sized (eight by 16 meters) sand volleyball court for off-season training. At the same time the football team works out in the indoor practice field, the new wing could also host a volleyball workout, a softball clinic and a baseball hitting practice. The Championship Wing will also house the Husker women’s soccer team’s new offices and locker rooms, which will overlook its field in the center of the adjacent Ed Weir Track.

The Championship Wing will have two visitor’s locker rooms and an auxiliary locker room that the Husker Yell Squad can use. Hitting and pitching cages, to be utilized by the softball and baseball teams, will also be located in the Championship Wing.

Roof installation was completed this spring. The precast concrete panels with embed brick veneer were installed around the base of the fieldhouse. The indoor fieldhouse will greatly benefit the Husker football team during inclement weather, as well as at least 10 other Husker teams. Upon completion of the indoor fieldhouse in August 2005. Nebraska will have two full-length indoor workout facilities to support its 23 varsity sports.  The Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center had Field Turf installed before the Huskers reported the first week in August, giving the team an indoor practice field identical to the field in Memorial Stadium.

The Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex
Before any visible building began on the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex, the ground grade pad was raised from 56 feet to 63 feet, which puts it at the same level as the Memorial Stadium Tom Osborne Field. Fans coming to the stadium will notice the significant difference in height for the Osborne Complex compared to the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Championship Center.

Most of the 360 pilings for the Osborne Athletic Complex have been poured. These holes, filled with cement, will support the Complex, which will include new football locker rooms and offices for the football coaches, athletic medicine, the strength coaches and athletic administration. The steel will rise up to seven stories high with two steel columns attached end-to-end to make one column 85 feet long. Implementation of the steel structure began on the east side of the complex near the outdoor track and will work back toward the west side.  The entire base of the structure is now in place. 

This section of the project is referred to by the contractors as the outboard section and should be very visible by the start of the 2005 season. The part under the existing stadium seating closer to the football field is called the inboard section and will be constructed after the 2005 season. The final part of the project will be the new strength complex, which is the north portion of the Osborne Complex. Most of the steel beams are now in place for the Osborne Complex, and it’s easy to see that the new Osborne Complex will be a beautiful and impressive face to the North.

The Charles and Romona Myers Performance Center for Student-Athletes
The largest single gift to the University of Nebraska Athletic Department was received just before Christmas in 2004 from Charles and Romona Myers. On behalf of the athletic department, Pederson graciously received their generous gift and in their honor, named the first-floor performance level of the new Osborne Athletic Complex, The Charles and Romona Myers Performance Center for Student-Athletes. The performance level features the main areas where Husker student-athletes of all sports will focus to achieve their championship goals. The Myers Performance Center will include the strength complex, the athletic medicine facilities and the football team locker room. The Athletic Medicine Headquarters will house water therapy pools for use by all 23 sports. The completion date for the Osborne Complex is scheduled for fall 2006.

North Stadium Expansion
A total of more than 6,000 new seats will be added to the north end zone of Memorial Stadium, expanding the seating capacity to over 80,000. The stadium expansion project will also include much-needed fan amenities in the North Stadium, including restrooms, concourse improvements and disabled seating.

Nearly all of he Raker Beams are installed in North Stadium. Fans will have a clear picture of  how the additional seating is positioned. The new seats are located adjacent to the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex, and on top of the current seats in North Stadium. Although the steel and base of the seating is clearly visible now, the seats will not be ready for occupation until 2006 as new entrances, exits and ramps must be constructed before the seats are  up to code. The athletic department is working on a plan to allocate the new seats to fans. Interested Huskers can sign up on the Football Ticket Waiting List on Huskers.com, or contact the NU Development Office at 402-472-2367.

Championship Drive Fund-Raising Continues
To date the athletic department, under the care of Associate Athletic Director for Development Paul Meyers, has raised more than $21 million in private funding for the project. Interest rates and construction prices have also worked in the University’s favor. In addition to the $5 million gift from Charles and Romona Myers, former Husker baseball and football standout and Anaheim Angel first baseman Darin Erstad and his wife Jessica announced last fall that they have committed $1 million to the Memorial Stadium Expansion Project. Fund-raising continues for the $50 million project, and the earlier fund-raising goals are met, the sooner the debt service can be eliminated.

For more information on gift giving or to see live construction updates, please see Huskers.com, or call the Nebraska Athletic Development Office.