Plug all but pulled on Nebraska football stadium project

When Trev Alberts left the Nebraska football program to take over the Texas A&M Aggies, there were quite a few guesses about why he made that move. Some believed he left because he knew his new boss wasn’t going to be any good.

Another prevalent theory is that Alberts understood that not enough people at the university supported his stadium project. When new athletic director Troy Dannen addressed the media during his official introduction, that theory seemed to hit closer to home.

Dannen refused to directly answer the questions about whether or not the stadium project was officially dead. It’s sensible of course, to assume that a final decision hasn’t been made on that score.

After all, Dannen has only been at the helm for about a week. He probably still doesn’t know where all the hallways around his office lead. The learning curve, for Nebraska football and the larger athletic department, though, comes with a steep learning curve.

Sooner or later, the questions are going to need to be answered. What he did say about the project seemed to indicate that at the very least, the plan will change a bit. There will almost certainly be less money invested in it. One has to think the massively unpopular idea to reduce capacity will be scrapped.

Everything should be on the chopping block. This is Dannen’s department now. He did give some hints as to what he’ll do with it.

Nebraska football stadium project near having its plug pulled

“This is a high-interest-rate environment we’re in right now so I don’t know what the actual costs are,” Dannen said of the proposed Memorial Stadium renovation. “I don’t know what the design is. And frankly, I don’t know what the buy-in is from everybody on the project. So I’ve got a lot to learn.

It’s the comment about the buy-in that should probably be a tip-off. It should probably be a sign that things are going to change in one way or another. 

At the moment, the stadium project is on life support. It feels like Troy Dannen will let it die, at least in the form that his predecessor envisioned.