Nebraska

Location

Lincoln, NE, United States

Capacity

85,458

Opened

1923

Time zone

UTC -06:00 Central Standard Time (CST)

Memorial Stadium, nicknamed "The Sea of Red," is an American football stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and hosts the university's spring commencement ceremony. The university began planning a new stadium complex shortly after World War I to replace Nebraska Field, an outdated venue that housed the program from 1909 to 1922. After a lengthy fundraising campaign and several design iterations, construction began in mid-1923. The unfinished Memorial Stadium opened on October 13, 1923, dedicated to honor Nebraskans who served in the American Civil War, the Spanish–American War, and World War I. The stadium was built with grandstands along its east and west sidelines; its capacity of 31,080 was unchanged until end zone bleachers were installed decades later. Major expansions of East, West, and North Stadium between 1999 and 2013 raised capacity to 85,458 and completely enclosed the original superstructure, which remains largely intact. Attendance regularly exceeded 90,000 in the past, though proposed future renovations will likely reduce capacity. Nebraska has sold out 410 consecutive games at Memorial Stadium, an NCAA record for any sport that dates to 1962. In 2023, Memorial Stadium hosted Volleyball Day in Nebraska – the announced attendance of 92,003 was a stadium record and the highest ever recorded for a women's sporting event. The venue's listed capacity of 85,458 is thirteenth-highest among collegiate stadiums and twenty-fifth worldwide. Memorial Stadium is often listed among the best venues in college football.