Memorial Stadium, officially Tom Osborne Field at Memorial Stadium, has stood at 600 Stadium Drive in Lincoln, Nebraska since it opened on October 13, 1923. Built to honor Nebraskans who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, the stadium began as a modest 31,080-seat grandstand and has grown, through decades of expansion, into one of the largest venues in college football.
Today the stadium seats 85,458 fans and is famous for turning into what locals call the ‘Sea of Red’ on game days, when it becomes, by attendance, the third-largest city in Nebraska. It remains the home field of Nebraska Cornhuskers football and is one of the most recognizable venues in the Big Ten Conference.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Nebraska Cornhuskers football
- Location: 600 Stadium Drive, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Opened: October 13, 1923
- Capacity: 85,458
- Surface: FieldTurf
- Notable fact: NCAA-record sellout streak dating to 1962
The Ride Experience
Nebraska’s sellout streak is the defining feature of a Memorial Stadium gameday: the Cornhuskers have sold out every home game dating back to a November 3, 1962 contest against Missouri, an NCAA record that has outlasted coaching changes, conference realignment, and decades of shifting fortunes on the field.
The playing surface has changed over the years, moving from natural grass at the 1923 opening to AstroTurf in 1970 and then to FieldTurf, which has been in place since 1999. The original grandstand structure, designed by architects John Latenser Sr. and Ellery L. Davis, still survives inside the many additions built around it.
Growth and Records
Capacity has climbed steadily from the original 31,080 seats, with major East, West, and North Stadium expansions between 1999 and 2013 pushing the total past 87,000 before later seat-widening settled the current figure at 85,458.
The stadium also holds an attendance record outside of football: 92,003 fans packed the venue for a Nebraska volleyball match on August 30, 2023, the largest crowd ever recorded for a women’s sporting event.
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Memorial Stadium FAQs
When did Memorial Stadium open?
It opened on October 13, 1923, though the stadium was still unfinished and the field itself was not yet fully grassed for the first game.
How many people does Memorial Stadium hold?
The current capacity is 85,458, following expansions completed between 1999 and 2013 and later seat adjustments.
Why is Memorial Stadium called the ‘Sea of Red’?
The nickname comes from the sight of tens of thousands of fans in Nebraska’s signature red filling the stands, a scene repeated at every sold-out Nebraska home game since 1962.
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Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.