Memorial Stadium , Lincoln Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in Lincoln , Nebraska , United States . It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team . The stadium holds an ongoing NCAA record of 325 consecutive sellouts , which began in 1962 . When full , Memorial Stadium holds more people than any Nebraska city except Omaha and Lincoln . Because most fans wear red apparel , the stadium is referred to as the " Sea of Red " on game days . On September 26 , 2009 , a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 86 , 304 watched Nebraska play Louisiana - Lafayette on its 300th consecutive sellout . History . In the fall of 1922 , a drive for $ 430 , 000 in funds to build a new football stadium was undertaken by faculty , students , alumni and friends of the university . Designed by John Latenser , Sr . , a notable Omaha architect , the stadium was named Memorial Stadium to honor all Nebraskans who served in the Civil and Spanish - American Wars and the 751 Nebraskans who died in World War I . Later , the stadium would also honor the 3 , 839 Nebraskans who died in World War II ; the 225 in Korea ; and the 422 in Vietnam . Construction was completed in just over 90 working days ; Memorial Stadium was dedicated on October 20 , 1923 . Inscribed on the four corners of the stadium are the following words , written by former Nebraska professor of philosophy Hartley Burr Alexander : A statue of Nebraska coach Tom Osborne ( now the school ' s athletic director ) and former Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer can be found outside the north side of the stadium . Berringer was a quarterback on Nebraska ' s 1994 and 1995 national championship teams who died in a plane crash in April 1996 , just two days before the 1996 NFL Draft where he was expected to be an early / middle round pick . Expansion . Memorial Stadium has undergone several phases of expansion and renovation since its original construction . In its original configuration , the stadium consisted of stands on the east and west sidelines . It was modeled after Ohio State ' s Ohio Stadium and had a seating capacity of around 31 , 000 . A series of four additions between 1964 and 1972 enclosed the stadium by adding seats above the north and south end zones , more than doubling Memorial Stadium ' s seating capacity to nearly 74 , 000 . A major renovation in 1999 added 42 luxury box es above the west stands ; the stadium was rededicated and the playing surface was renamed after retiring coach Tom Osborne . Osborne , known for his trademark modesty , was notably embarrassed by this gesture . In 2004 , construction began to renovate and expand the north end zone stands . Memorial Stadium now features an additional 13 luxury boxes above the north stands called the " Skyline Suites " and an additional 6 , 000 seats , increasing seating capacity to 81 , 067 . Nebraska has the eighth - largest video screen in college football , at 33 feet ( 10 m ) tall and nearly 40 yards ( 37 m ) wide . ( At the time it was completed in 2004 , the scoreboard was the largest in a college football stadium . ) Before the 2009 season two new high definition video screens were added on the northeast and northwest pillars of the original stadium , bringing the total number of high definition screens in the stadium to five . Concurrently , ribbon boards stretching the length of the field were installed along the east and west balconies of the stadium . On October 15 , 2010 , the University announced that its Board of Regents had approved an expansion project that is anticipated to cost up to $ 65 million , increasing the stadium ' s listed seating capacity of 93 , 000 . This expansion will be built on the stadium ' s east side , and will include over 2 , 000 seats in a covered and heated area , adjacent to an event area and terrace . 1 , 000 to 1 , 500 skybox seats will be part of the project , and the number of general admission seats will increase by almost 3 , 000 . The original east facade of the stadium , plus Gate 20 , will be preserved within a new entrance lobby . The creation of the first standing room only area in Memorial Stadium is also in the plan ; an area available for companies and private parties to host events on a game - to - game basis . In addition , the University plans to create a cutting edge athletics research facility in addition to another dedicated to campus research . Work is expected to be complete prior to the 2013 college football season . The project was initially voted on by fans of the football program , who were asked if they preferred expanding the stadium capacity , or preserving the stadium ' s ongoing NCAA - record sell - out streak . The outcome of the polling was overwhelmingly in favor of expansion while maintaining the sellout streak . Surface . Memorial Stadium was the first college football stadium in Division I - A to install FieldTurf , in 1999 . A second FieldTurf installation featuring an alternating light green / dark green " mowing " pattern every five yards was put in place prior to the 2005 season , to coincide with a removal of a fairly significant crown that had been in place for decades . Lighting . Starting in the early 1980s , portable lighting was occasionally installed for late - autumn games shown on national television , usually those against the University of Oklahoma . The first proper night game at Memorial Stadium took place on September 6 , 1986 , when Nebraska defeated Florida State 34 – 17 . Attendance records . The following are the top ten highest attended games at Memorial Stadium :