Regents to consider alcohol sales for Husker basketball, beginning of Memorial Stadium renovations

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will have a busy meeting next Friday, as the board considers allowing alcohol sales at Nebraska basketball games, the start of the process of Memorial Stadium renovations, and the approval of a new $300 million multi-media rights agreement.

At the board’s meeting on Sept. 30 in Kearney, an amendment to the University’s operations agreement with Pinnacle Bank Arena will be considered, allowing for alcohol sales at Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball games beginning this season.

In February, the board of regents updated the University’s policy on alcohol sales at athletic events, allowing for the sale of alcohol at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament.

The City of Lincoln will also be involved, as it owns Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The proposal in front of the Regents would send 90 percent of revenue from alcohol sales to the city, and 10 percent to the University.

There is no plan currently to allow alcohol sales at Memorial Stadium or Haymarket Park.

Also being discussed at the meeting will be the start of the examination process of Memorial Stadium renovations.

Previously, Athletic Director Trev Alberts sent out a survey to Husker fans to gauge what changes could and should be made.

Next Friday, the Regents will vote to start the planning process and select a program manager, design team, and construction firm. This approval would be earlier in the process than normal, but the University says it will allow Alberts and other University leaders to have an “expert team at their side from Day 1 of what is expected to be a large, highly complex, rapidly evolving process involving private fundraising, design, and construction.”

Another large item on a busy agenda is the approval of a new multi-media rights agreement with Playfly Sports Properties.

The proposal is a 15-year agreement that would start on Oct. 1 and run through 2038.

The agreement would include:

$273.6 million of guaranteed revenue payments

$7.5 million of signing bonuses

$6.5 million in royalties (estimated)

$6.0 million in capital investments

$5.5 million digital suite (web/app)

$2.25 million for NIL fund

“The University’s agreement with IMG expired June 30, 2021. Over the past year, the complexity of the transition to an inhouse model, in addition to the shifting legal, economic, and political environment of collegiate athletics, has prompted Nebraska Athletics to carefully consider returning to an external multimedia rights model,” a document outlining the agreement states.