Nebraska football's Memorial Stadium set to go back to grass field

Since Troy Dannen took over as athletic director, there’s been quite a bit of talk centered on Memorial Stadium. The reaction to Dannen's plans for the home of the Nebraska football team is mixed. However, some excellent news arrived on Friday morning.

The athletic department has made little tweaks to the surface of Memorial stadium over the years, going from full on astro turf to a mix of turf that’s supposed to be easier on knees. However, Dannen is looking to phase that out as well.

According to Mitch Sherman, Dannen plans to bring natural grass back to the Nebraska football program’s stadium. There is one catch though, as it won’t be immediate.

Nebraska football’s Memorial Stadium gets excellent news

Sherman reported the news of the grass replacing turf on Friday’s edition of the Locked on Nebraska podcast. The full rollout will begin after the 2025 season, meaning Husker fans won’t get to see the new field until the spring game in 2026.

“So they will play in 2024 this fall with the field turf,” Sherman said. “And then after this season, like next winter, they're gonna rip up the grass outside in front of the Tom Osborne Legacy Complex, put down some new fancy grass with underground heating elements and see how that goes through 2025. And if all is good, then when the 2025 season is over, out comes the turf and in goes grass.”

Assuming everything goes to plan, this would be the first time since 1969 that the Huskers will play on grass in Memorial Stadium. 

This is the kind of project that seems like it should have been greenlit years ago. One wonders whether it’s truly something Dannen has spearheaded or something on the burner before Alberts left.

What’s clear is that this particular direction for the Nebraska football program is a massive plus. And something to definitely look forward to in the not too distant future.