The Big Red Rebuild: Why Nebraska Has to Spend $600 Million on Memorial Stadium

West Memorial Stadium

The most expensive stadium is the one you don’t build today.

I saw that line somewhere and it stuck with me, because it captures exactly what I think about the Big Red Rebuild — the $600 million renovation of Memorial Stadium that’s about to land in front of the Board of Regents. I don’t see a world where this doesn’t get approved. And I don’t see a world where waiting makes it cheaper.

This Isn’t Trev’s Plan

Compare this to Trev Alberts’ 2023 proposal: $450 million, focused mostly on South Stadium. Now we’re at $600 million, although the scope is dramatically broader. If we’d done the Trev version in 2023, we’d still be staring at a list of problems to solve in 2028. The $600 million figure is also the announced number.

Projects of this nature typically hit 15-20% cost overruns. You’re digging into old buildings, foundations, and just because something is on a blueprint or plan somewhere, that doesn’t mean that’s what you’ll find. It’s typical to find more work needs to be done. Or bodies. They could find bodies. They never found Jimmy Hoffa. Maybe he’s under there. Then they’d have to stop and do an investigation, while they’re still paying for everyone to sit around.

You’re realistically looking at something closer to $800 million by the time it’s done.

That’s just how construction works.

$200 Million of This Is Just the Bill Coming Due

Roughly $200 million of this project is deferred maintenance. Decades of “we’ll get to it later” finally catching up in one lump sum.

Pull up the Omaha World-Herald from May 18, 1993. A section of Memorial Stadium — which at that point seated 73,650 — collapsed. It happened in May. Nobody was hurt. Everyone rushed to assure fans that the whole stadium wasn’t going anywhere. Now imagine that exact same collapse in October. On a Saturday. With fans in those seats.

You either invest in the things you have, or they fall apart. That’s not a football argument. That’s a physics argument.

“Spend It On NIL Instead” Doesn’t Work

The number one complaint I’ve seen is people wishing the money went to NIL so we could field a better football team. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but it’s a completely separate issue. You cannot pay players with bond money. The $250 million in donor commitments and $350 million in private bonds funding this project do not convert to NIL collective dollars. Entirely different funding streams.

This isn’t stadium or players. It’s stadium and eventually more money for everything via increased revenue — or no stadium and a slow decline in our ability to fund anything.

The Big Ten Arms Race Is Real

Nebraska pulled in $215 million in athletic revenue in 2025. Ohio State pulled in $336 million. Ohio State will always have more people and more donors than we do — that’s a fact of geography. But anything we can do to close that gap matters.

Penn State is mid-construction on a $700 million Beaver Stadium project. Northwestern just spent $862 million on a new Ryan Field. Michigan is studying its options. Every serious program in this conference is either building, has built, or is about to build. You either build the inventory to compete, or you accept being a second-tier Big Ten program forever. There is no third option.

Projected revenue after the Big Red Rebuild is complete: $95 million a year. That’s a 40% increase over where we sit today.

The Heated Field Matters More Than You Think

They’re adding a heated field. It unlocks two real things: it removes a significant argument against Nebraska being a College Football Playoff host, and it lets the stadium host events deeper into winter. I realize the idea of Nebraska being in a college football playoff seems impossible right now, but this rebuild sets Memorial Stadium up to be viable for decades to come.

If they can hold more events, then more money comes in, simple as that.

About the Academics Argument

One criticism I haven’t seen addressed anywhere: how can we spend $600 million on a stadium while cutting academic budgets?

It’s a fair question, but the premise is off. Enrollment is cratering nationally because of the demographic cliff we’ve all seen coming for a long time. Every university is cutting budgets — not because they don’t value education, but because supply and demand is real.

If anything, universities are going to have to market themselves better than ever. And honestly, having winning sports teams does a good job of that. Whenever I think of this, I think about an interview I did with my friend Ramsey, who’s an Ohio State guy (he runs Eleven Warriors), who pointed out that their football team is the spearhead of the marketing effort they lead at Ohio State University. Ohio State seems to be doing pretty well, yes?

Build It

Zero taxpayer dollars. $250 million from donors. $350 million from private bonds. That’s the Nebraska Athletic Department way.

This stadium will outlive me. It’ll outlive most of you. Your grandchildren will sit in those seats.

The most expensive stadium is the one you don’t build today.

Build it. Build it now. Build it right. Get it done.