Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
| Tom Osborne Field "Sea of Red" "The Boneyard" (student section) |
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| Location | 600 Stadium Drive Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 |
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| Coordinates | 40°49′14″N 96°42′20″W / 40.82056°N 96.70556°WCoordinates: 40°49′14″N 96°42′20″W / 40.82056°N 96.70556°W |
| Owner | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| Operator | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| Capacity | 86,047 (since 2015). |
| Record attendance | 91,585 (vs. Miami (FL) - Sept. 20, 2014) |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | April 26, 1923 |
| Opened | October 20, 1923 |
| Renovated | 2006 |
| Expanded | 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1998, 2006, 2013 |
| Construction cost | $430,000 (original structure) ($6.04 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect |
John Latenser, Sr. and Sons Davis & Wilson |
| Project manager | Earl Hawkins |
| Structural engineer | Meyer & Jolly |
| General contractor | Parsons Construction Co. |
| Tenants | |
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Nebraska Cornhuskers (NCAA) (1923–present) NSAA state high school football finals (1996–present) |
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Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
At the conclusion of the 2016 season, the stadium holds an ongoing NCAA record of 354 consecutive sellouts, which began in 1962. When full, Memorial Stadium holds more people than any Nebraska city except Omaha and Lincoln. Because most fans wear red apparel, the stadium is referred to as the "Sea of Red" on game days.
In the fall of 1922, a drive for $430,000 in funds to build a new football stadium was undertaken by faculty, students, alumni and friends of the university. Designed by John Latenser, Sr., a notable Omaha architect, the stadium was named Memorial Stadium to honor all Nebraskans who served in the Civil and Spanish-American Wars and the 751 Nebraskans who died in World War I. Later, the stadium would also honor the 3,839 Nebraskans who died in World War II; the 225 in Korea; and the 422 in Vietnam. Construction was completed in just over 90 working days; Memorial Stadium was dedicated on October 20, 1923.
Inscribed on the four corners of the stadium are the following words, written by former Nebraska professor of philosophy Hartley Burr Alexander:
A statue of Nebraska former coach Tom Osborne and former Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer can be found outside the north side of the stadium. Berringer was a quarterback on Nebraska's 1994 and 1995 national championship teams who died in a plane crash in April 1996, just two days before the 1996 NFL Draft where he was projected to be an early- to middle-round pick.
Since 1996, Memorial Stadium has also been the host for the Nebraska School Activities Association's state high school football championship finals (playoff games prior to class championship matches are played elsewhere), including the smallest schools that play the variant rule-sets of six-man football (until its disuse by the NSAA in 1998) and eight-man football (still played), despite playing on the larger, standard size field. Prior to the move to Memorial, finals for each class were contested at various local sites.
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