Best Sports and Entertainment: Osborne Legacy Complex

Osborne Legacy Complex

Lincoln Neb.

BEST PROJECT, SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT, and Award of Merit, Safety

Submitted by Hausmann Construction

Owner: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contractor: Hausmann Construction

Lead Design Firm: BVH Architecture

Structural Engineer: Hatfield Group Engineering

Civil Engineer: Olsson Inc.

MEP Engineer: M-E Engineers

Architect: Populous

Owner’s Representative: Rainwood Development Partners LLC

Spanning 315,000 sq ft, this $125-million expansion of historic Memorial Stadium has brought new life to the University of Nebraska’s football program and its student-athlete facilities through a three-year, two-phase construction effort that balanced modernization with preservation.

The project united a new football performance center and comprehensive student-athlete amenities under one roof. The first phase added athletic medicine, strength and conditioning areas, locker rooms, meeting rooms and football offices.

The second phase delivered an academic center, a full-service dining hall and an experience lobby for visitors and recruits.

Built on a tight, occupied site, the project required that work continue around active game days while protecting the university’s iconic “Kissing Columns,” which were relocated to form a new entrance to the stadium.

The construction team faced a range of challenges, including unmapped utilities, hazardous coal-contaminated soil, buried railroad debris and more than 5,000 design clashes—each resolved through 3D modeling and building information modeling (BIM) tools that saved roughly $500,000 and months of delays.

Photo by Matt Kocourek Photography

Maintaining stadium operations during three football seasons demanded close coordination with university staff, fire marshals and event personnel.

When a key stadium gate was blocked, crews built a 30-ft-tall scaffold egress tower with ADA-compliant ramps to preserve crowd access. In addition, weekly “game day readiness” walks ensured safety and code compliance.

With more than 1.2 million work hours logged and a peak workforce of over 200 tradespeople, the contractor implemented enhanced safety measures beyond standard protocols, including pre-event inspections and continuous public-safety monitoring. Despite shifting leadership and material delays, the project stayed on schedule.

In a proactive move, the contractor resequenced construction to finish the football locker room six months early—aligning with the season start and demonstrating the teamwork that defined the stadium’s latest transformation.