Plastic-Backed, Thicker-Padded, Brighter Red Seats Await Husker Fans

Now that Nebraska fans know they can no longer bring their own stadium seats into Memorial Stadium, it's time they see what will replace those inconsistently sized chairbacks, plus the only ones they've been able to rent inside the stadium over the last 40 years.

"We felt it was time to standardize our chairback seating throughout the stadium, so we worked with Cornhusker State Industries to design and manufacture 18,000 new plastic-backed, thicker-padded, brighter red seats," Michael Stephens said.

Stephens, who oversees Marketing, Licensing and Concessions in the Nebraska Athletic Department, said the new seats figure to sell much faster on Husker Game Day than the khaki-colored canvas chairs that have been recycled after four decades.

"We think fans will appreciate how much sturdier these new seats are and how much more comfortable they are," said Janell Hall, manager of Nebraska's Concessions Operations. "The biggest improvement is in the back support. We looked at several possibilities and finally decided on the same design the Green Bay Packers used for their new chairbacks."

Hall said seats have been modified to fit the narrow planks of Memorial Stadium. They are 16½ inches wide at the base and 17 inches wide on the chairback and will not overlap into adjacent seats.

"Basically, the new chairbacks have a thicker, 2-inch pad, and the molded backs are more comfortable," Hall said. "The concave design will give fans more room for their knees."

Stephens said allowing personal chairbacks in the past often created unequal seating. "We knew we needed to standardize, so we could equalize," he said. "This solution should help almost everyone."

Before the Athletic Department decided to finalize the single largest order ever for Cornhusker State Industries (which used 50 Nebraska State Prison inmates to design and manufacture the seats), Stephens asked a certain Nebraska fan to sit in one of the prototype chairbacks inside the stadium.

"The new seat passed the test of Tom Osborne," Stephens said. "He sat in one of the old ones and then sat in one of the new ones that we were proposing. He could see a big difference."

Hall said about 4,700 season ticketholders elected to rent the chairbacks in advance, leaving 13,300 new seats that will be available for Husker fans to rent at $5 apiece throughout the stadium at every home game this season.

"Our focus was to find a chairback that was comfortable, sturdy and easy to carry," Stephens said. "We're confident we met this goal, and we think the fans will agree."