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LINCOLN — Husker athletics is revealing more information on what it will charge for people to rent out its premier spaces for corporate gatherings, weddings and other events.
And the department is hoping new marketing will bolster venue interest from prospective brides to international pop stars and country acts.
“A bucket list item for me would be Taylor Swift,” said Arek Olson, Nebraska Athletics associate athletic director of special events.
While there are no conversations or any such performances on the books, Olson acknowledged the sky – and a 90,000 person capacity – is the limit.
“I think there’s some really cool ideas about using Memorial Stadium for something other than football. Think about international soccer, a boxing match. You have to think outside the box – maybe an ice hockey.”
Olson was clear that the historic stadium will always be football first, but his hunger of dreaming big for the NU stadium falls in line with what his boss, Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen, has in mind for the department’s financial future.
Olson was one of the first hires this year tied to Dannen’s vision of growing an entire team dedicated to operating events within the athletics venues.
Olson helped lead the University of Arkansas’ venture to ticketing events, bringing in acts like Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks to its campus.
The University of Nebraska athletic department is betting big on its new events venture in order to generate more revenue.
Dannen hasn’t shied away from the strategy in recent discussions during news conferences with Nebraska reporters. He said earlier this year that event planning would be a large focus in 2025.
“We have to start thinking entrepreneurially,” Dannen said in August about utilizing historic NU buildings for commercial venue spots. “The days are past when we can just rely on, ‘Hey, there’s seven home football games, and we’re going to sell out the stadium.’ We have to find new ways to generate revenue.”
New website up
On a new website launched in early December, Husker athletics revealed rental costs for Memorial Stadium’s Tom Osborne Field and several of the stadium’s club lounges. Just to utilize the 85,000 squarefoot historic football field for a day’s rental, prospective brides or event bookers will pay $10,000.
But the Huskers events team said other “additional items,” such as catering, florists and labor, would be billed separately.
While the $10,000 price tag might make some wallets yelp, the cost is fairly competitive compared to some wedding venues in Lincoln and Omaha, which can easily start at $5,000 to $8,000 just for an evening’s rental.
Olson said since the department launched its official venue website on Dec. 1, he’s received five or six wedding inquiries for Husker venue space. While a bride isn’t scheduled to walk down Memorial Stadium’s 50-yard line yet, the associate AD said he’s eager to help plan “something special” on the same field where Husker Heisman quarterback Eric Crouch in 2001 ran the explosive Black 41 Flash Reverse and Jordan Westerkamp caught a lastsecond, 49-yard Hail Mary catch in 2013 to beat Northwestern.
“We are open to anything and everything,” Olson said. “We’re trying to tap into newer markets and to folks that want to have their engagement photos here or have a wedding rehearsal dinner. We’re super excited that we have an administration that wants us to go out and get creative and think outside the box.”
