Western Specialty Contractors recently completed a project to restore the east balcony at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s iconic Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The project included concrete repairs, the application of a new traffic coating system, and a new expansion joint system.
Nicknamed The Sea of Red, Memorial Stadium is a concrete and steel American football stadium located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln. Primarily serving as the home venue for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the stadium was built in 1923 and has a capacity of 90,000.
The university’s Board of Regents hired Western in February 2023 to restore and waterproof the stadium’s east balcony which was showing signs of weathering and wear-and-tear. Partnered with engineering firm WJE, the team designed repairs for the university’s historic structure, which were to be completed in time for the fall 2023 football season.
The team conducted a thorough examination and sounding of the stadium’s east balcony to determine Western’s scope of work, which included:
• Top surface concrete repair (partial depth and full depth)
• Partial depth overhead surface repairs
• Tread full depth repairs
• Vomitory wall demolition and infill
• Aisle step replacement
• Installation of new handrailing in the aisles
• Expansion joint replacement
• Installation of new laminated glass guardrails
• Top surface concrete repairs on the northeast and southeast towers
• Application of a LymTal traffic coating membrane at the northeast and southeast towers
• Concrete floor repairs in the men’s and women’s bathrooms
• Application of a LymTal traffic coating membrane on the bathroom floors
• Application of a LymTal traffic coating membrane on the East Balcony
Access to the balcony’s work areas posed a challenge to Western’s crew. As a solution, Western’s stadium restoration experts used a stair scaffolding system and scaffold hoist, along with 8-10 rolling mobile scaffold units to complete the balcony’s overhead concrete repairs.
The new steel guardrails held a particular challenge for Western’s craftsmen who had to expertly adjust their size to hold new laminated glass.
The $2.1 million restoration project was completed in August 2023 to the satisfaction of the university, and in time for the team’s first home game on Sept. 16.
