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Memorial Stadium To Go Under $12.3 Million In Sound, WiFi, Fan Experience Improvements

These improvements will make the 91 year old stadium ready to go for the 125th year of Nebraska Football.

By Brian Towle
Eric Francis

The University of Nebraska announced today improvements to Memorial Stadium. These improvements, which should be done this summer, are scheduled to be completed and ready to go when your Nebraska Cornhuskers host the Florida Atlantic Owls on August 30th.

There are three main parts to this renovation that the Nebraska AD office emphasized in their release.

Sound System:

The current system had been up for 20 years, which outlived its 15 year expectancy and needed updating. With this updating, there will be a new design on top of the North Stadium Scoreboard. On top of the scoreboard now will be a 25 foot illuminated "N" that will be visible from both inside and outside of the stadium.

WiFi Capabilities:

In a move that's been talked about for a while, Nebraska is partnering with Cisco to improve the WiFi capabilites for fans across the stadium. The plan is the WifI to be having such a big footprint, that you can connect to the internet from Memorial Stadium near the Champions Club, Ed Weir Track, and multiple parking areas around the stadium.

Cisco is the company that does ATT Stadium in Arlington, and I have to admit that last year, WiFi capabilities were much better in the stadium during gamedays, and that was with 85,000 in attendance. Of course, that is on an ATT network, and it's unknown what the carrier will be for this. Jon could probably answer questions about this better than I.

Cisco will also help with Internet Protocol Televsion (IPTV) to help out getting TV pictures and stats to TV's around the stadium. If done like ATT Stadium's setup, the only thing you should notice is that there will be advertising around the picture as you can see what's on HuskerVision's screen and other channels on concourses.

Smartphone App Integration:

Nebraska has renewed their contract with NeuLion, the same company that does the BTN2Go app streaming, to give the patron inside the stadium content that they can only get while connected inside Memorial Stadium's WiFi. Things like stadium maps, real time stats, and concession/bathroom/first aid locations. HuskerVision, which is responsible for all UNL content inside the stadium, will be sending content through the app, which is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

The only thing I wonder about is NeuLion, considering I'm not a fan of their work on the Professional Bowlers Association and BTN apps. However, my take isn't as warm as another CN staffers....

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