During his monthly show on the Huskers Radio Network, University of Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said that Nebraska's Go Big project, which was originally budgeted at $150 million, was approved by the NU Board of Regents to now be a $160 million project.
As reported by HuskerOnline, Alberts said they approached the Board of Regents because of the inflation of prices for steel and other raw materials.
The Go Big facilities project will be built on the north side of Memorial Stadium for the football program but will also be open to other student-athletes. Alberts said the project is on track to be done during the summer of 2023.
The first-year athletic director said Nebraska has raised $107 million of its $115 million fundraising goal. He said he has been impressed with the generosity of people to give to the athletic program in spite of the pandemic.
The pandemic had shut down fan tours of Memorial Stadium, but those will start again May 18, according to Alberts. Eventually, he said, Nebraska's trophies will be moved from the stadium into the new facility where fans can still see and tour that building.
Memorial Stadium is also undergoing a synthetic turf replacement, HuskerOnline reported. Nebraska's spring game was early this season so turf could be replaced before the university's spring graduation ceremony, which will be in the stadium May 13.
Alberts said half the turf was torn up the night of the spring game, which was attended by 54,000 people. Alberts said fans will like the fresh color of the new turf as the old playing field, which was supposed to be replaced two years ago, had faded. Unlike the previous field, which featured alternating stripes in slightly different shades of green, the new turf will be a uniform color.
Beyond the Go Big project, Alberts said Haymarket Park, where the Huskers baseball team and the Lincoln Saltdogs play, could use some updating. He stressed his love for the ballpark but said new facilities could help with recruiting and day-to-day operations, and added that there is already some donor interest in the baseball facility project.
