Memorial Stadium Back in the Day

[Mavric]

I think it was on the south face of the field house (north), right? At least the clock was.

[Mavric]

Couldn't find a really good picture but I think this is it:

 

[TGHusker]

I wonder what the seating capacity was in that old pic? Anyone have a guess?

[Mavric]

Memorial Stadium has undergone several phases of expansion and renovation since its original construction. In its original configuration, the stadium consisted of stands on the east and west sidelines. It was modeled after Ohio State's Ohio Stadium and had a seating capacity of around 31,000. A series of four additions between 1964 and 1972 enclosed the stadium by adding seats above the north and south end zones, more than doubling Memorial Stadium's seating capacity to nearly 74,000. A major renovation in 1999 added 42 luxury boxes above the west stands; the stadium was rededicated and the playing surface was renamed after retiring coach Tom Osborne. Osborne, known for his trademark modesty, was notably embarrassed by this gesture.

In 2004, construction began to renovate and expand the north end zone stands. Memorial Stadium now features an additional 13 luxury boxes above the north stands called the "Skyline Suites" and an additional 6,000 seats, increasing seating capacity to 81,067. Nebraska has the twentieth-largest video screen in college football, at 33 feet (10 m) tall and nearly 40 yards (37 m) wide. (At the time it was completed in 2004, the scoreboard was the largest in a college football stadium.) Before the 2009 season two new high definition video screens were added on the northeast and northwest pillars of the original stadium, bringing the total number of high definition screens in the stadium to five. Concurrently, ribbon boards stretching the length of the field were installed along the east and west balconies of the stadium.

On October 15, 2010, the University announced that its Board of Regents had approved an expansion project that is anticipated to cost up to $65 million, increasing the stadium's listed seating capacity to 87,000. This expansion was built on the stadium's east side, and includes 3,300 general admission seats, 2,119 new club seats and 38 additional skybox suites. The expansion totals more than 6,000 new seats and brings the total number of private suites inside the stadium to 101.[6] The original east facade of the stadium, plus Gate 20, was preserved within a new entrance lobby. The creation of the first standing room only area in Memorial Stadium was also built; an area available for companies and private parties to host events on a game-to-game basis. In addition, the University created a 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) cutting edge athletics research facility in addition to another 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) dedicated to campus research. The expansion project was completed and dedicated on August 22, 2013. The project was initially voted on by fans of the football program, who were asked if they preferred expanding the stadium capacity, or preserving the stadium's ongoing NCAA-record sell-out streak. The outcome of the polling was overwhelmingly in favor of expansion while maintaining the sellout streak.[7]

 

Wikipedia

[knapplc]

Was the scoreboard still on the north side?

Here's a pic of the old scoreboard:

 

 

And a few pictures of Schulte Field House:

 

 

 

[cg_8]

I wonder what the seating capacity was in that old pic? Anyone have a guess?

• 1964: 48,000, south end zone bleachers erected, making stadium a horseshoe.

 

Not sure if that includes the temporary north end zone bleachers.

[ColoradoHusk]

Cool pictures of the old stadium. My dad started getting season tickets in the early 1960s. He (and now my mom) had 2 tickets in the West Balcony all the way up until a few years ago, when they made the West Balcony 100% club seating. Now my mom's tickets are in the first level of the East Balcony.

[Old Nebraska Guy]

If the orginal picture is from the fall of 1964 then I am sitting in the circled area, the student section. Some students sat in the south end of the east stadium and some in the adjacent area of the south stadium.

 

 

The scoreboard shown with the opponent SD State, South Dakota State, was the new scoreboard in 1963. Before that the time was shown on a dial-like clock face with sweep hands for the minutes and seconds. The score was kept in the rectangle area above the clock. I think the numbers were posted by hand.

 

I hope this goes up well as it is my first post.

[Old Nebraska Guy]

Hamilton Hall was under construction in 1968 and iirc did not open until the fall of 1969.

[knapplc]

That's cool stuff. Welcome to HuskerBoard, and thanks for the info.

[Landlord]

If the orginal picture is from the fall of 1964 then I am sitting in the circled area, the student section. Some students sat in the south end of the east stadium and some in the adjacent area of the south stadium.

 

stadium.jpg

 

The scoreboard shown with the opponent SD State, South Dakota State, was the new scoreboard in 1963. Before that the time was shown on a dial-like clock face with sweep hands for the minutes and seconds. The score was kept in the rectangle area above the clock. I think the numbers were posted by hand.

 

I hope this goes up well as it is my first post.

 

 

 

Welcome to the board ya old wrinkly prune!

[CheeseHusker]

What's interesting about that is "NEBRASKA" is written in the north end zone, and "HUSKERS" is in the south. As long as I can remember, it has always been the other way around.

[admo]

Game Day Series ‏@GameDaySeries 26m26 minutes ago

Nebraska's Memorial Stadium circa '64 #TBT @HuskerExtraBC @HuskersGameDay @CityofLincoln @JournalStarNews @CornNation

 

 

Hard to find the words to describe such a great photo. It has to be near the top of the list of field shots. My ultimate favorite was Alex Henery lining up to kick the 57 yard FG to beat Colorado in 2008. Or he might have just kicked it, can't remember exactly. But it was the best and the image came from this board.

[Landlord]

circa 2015: