Trev Alberts sends message to fans in South Stadium impacted by planned renovations

Nebraska fans who currently sit in South Stadium for football games could soon have to look for new seats.

Cornhuskers Athletics Director Trev Alberts announced renovation plans for Memorial Stadium earlier this week. As part of the renovations, the South Stadium portion of Memorial Stadium will be replaced by chair-back seating.

Alberts shared his message to fans who will be impacted by the planned renovations.

“Obviously we can’t get ahead of ourselves… we don’t have a project yet. So we can’t officially sign pledge agreements with donors until you have approval from the board. … So this is a first step in a process to move forward,” Alberts said. “But we’re well aware of how important internal and external communication strategies are going to be. … It would be our hope that every single person in the stadium’s voice will be heard – good, bad or ugly. And I’m prepared for all of it.”

Alberts understands that some Cornhuskers fans will be unhappy with having to change their seat location. But Nebraska will work with fans to try to get them in seats that are right for them.

“Part of it will be helping them to understand what the future could look like, and if that’s not the seat today, what’s a different seat look like?” Alberts said. “So whether it’s town hall meetings… this is not just a Lincoln thing or Omaha. This is the state of Nebraska and even beyond. So we’re going to have to be really buttoned up on our communication strategy, and that’ll be on me. There will be times when we fall short of that and we’ll apologize and work harder.”

Nebraska AD Trev Alberts provides timeline, demolition schedule for planned Memorial Stadium renovation

As Trev Alberts mentioned, the Memorial Stadium renovations have not been approved by the Nebraska Board of Trustees yet. This process will take some time.

Alberts outlined a very basic construction timeline earlier this week and addressed some of the concerns that come with the renovations.

“The initial infrastructure package we can get started immediately given approval, and hopeful approval, on the 5th (of October),” Alberts said. “Then ultimately the major construction and, quite frankly, the major disruption that’s going to be a real challenge is directly after the ’24 season.”

Few impacts will hit the stadium or its surrounding areas until after the 2024 season, the first in which the Big Ten expands and welcomes four new members.

After that, things will get underway in serious fashion, with the goal to keep the disruption from the Memorial Stadium renovation as limited as possible.

“So roughly January of ’25 we will demolish South Stadium and rebuild it,” Alberts said. “Obviously the hope is to have one season of disruption, so the goal is by August of ’26 that South Stadium is rebuilt in a way that’s indicative of the quality of the rest of the stadium.

“But we need to be honest with ourselves. We live in Lincoln, Nebraska and it’s very hard to predict the weather. Also we’ve had some challenges in construction, as you all know, relative to supply chain issues and those types of things.”