New, temporary kitchen with 'firepower' to serve Husker fans during $600M rebuild

The space Nebraska Athletics’ concession operators used to prepare gameday favorites for 90,000 screaming Big Red fans who packed into the iconic venue — as well as others across the city — is now a construction site.

For months, crews have been busy removing the kitchen and offices to reveal electric lines and sewer pipes that need replacing, as well as pouring new foundations underneath West Stadium to have the new stands ready ahead of the 2027 football season.

Kortne Gosha, deputy athletic director and chief commercial officer, said keeping the ambitious $600 million Big Red Rebuild on schedule required some creative planning and, perhaps, risk-taking.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to enable work to begin as soon as possible on the west side,” Gosha said. “We had to demolish the kitchen that services every athletic venue we have.”

The absence of a permanent kitchen won’t be noticed by fans.

In March, a temporary kitchen custom-built by On-Site Solutions Partners just outside the dock in Memorial Stadium’s northwest corner began firing up concessions for Husker home baseball and softball games.

The kitchen compound — which includes six trailers, 15 shipping containers and a security camera tower — will continue to serve concessions and premium areas at Memorial Stadium for the next two and a half years.

Gosha said as Nebraska Athletics was exploring options to fill the gap left by scrapping the main kitchen in the stadium, he leaned into a niche but growing market of temporary kitchen facilities.

“When you think about it, hospitals get renovated all the time and they use these things,” he said. “Festivals like the Country Music Awards have these types of things. We were like, hey, that’s kind of similar.”

The athletic department began working with the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, company last year to develop a facility that could serve the needs of Memorial Stadium, the Devaney Sports Center, and Haymarket Park beginning after the 2026 football season.

Then the timeline changed.

“We found out in November that we needed to be cooking by March,” said David Sells, CEO of On-Site. “Eighteen weeks to design, build, haul, and commission a full commercial kitchen is not a normal timeline in this business.”

But by the time fans begin to congregate around the stadium on Saturday, Nebraska Athletics will have what it needs.

Four trailers dedicated to the kitchen, oven, prep, and ware-washing, were custom fabricated to specifications developed by NU and Aramark Sports and Entertainment.

“Most people assume a stadium kitchen works seven Saturdays a year,” Sells said. “This one runs about 280 days and feeds every athletic facility on campus. That changed how we had to build it.”

Aramark staff will operate a main cook line featuring a 60-inch griddle, 60-inch char-broiler, three fryers, a convection oven, and a six-burner range under 27 feet of ventilation hood.

The cooking trailers have the same wet-chemical fire suppression systems that come standard in permanent commercial kitchens. And each unit is insulated and heated, allowing them to operate deep into the winter months.

A total of 14 containers offer different types of storage. Eight of the containers are refrigerated, while six contain dry storage. A 15th container, 40 feet in length, is dedicated to hot holding.

It took a total of 12 truckloads to deliver the kitchen from Tennessee to Lincoln – an 800-mile trip in each direction. The kitchen was operational seven days after the first trailer arrived on site, helped by three On-Site staff working alongside Nebraska crews.

Four ovens and two skillets included in the temporary site, which were purchased by NU and shipped to Tennessee to be installed in the trailers before delivery, will be moved into the permanent kitchen once West Stadium construction is finished.

Sells said Nebraska’s compound is the biggest On-Site has done. The company has set up temporary kitchens for athletic venues in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Kentucky.

“In 17 years in college athletics operations, I haven’t come across a larger temporary foodservice compound at a college facility,” he said.

Gosha said Memorial Stadium’s temporary kitchen, which received the approval of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department following an inspection, has some advantages over the permanent facility it replaced.

“Our temporary kitchen has more firepower than the kitchen we demolished,” he said. “It’s unreal.”

New concessions offered

The kitchen will serve Aramark, now in its second season providing food and beverage service at Husker athletic venues.

Fan favorites such as Runza, Valentino’s Pizza, and Fairbury Red Hot Dogs will still be staples at football games this fall, while Aramark will also offer a variety of specialty items at stands throughout the stadium.

New items for sale at general concessions this year include:

* N-shaped pretzel (GBR Classic locations)

* Fairbury polish sausage (GBR Classic locations)

* Footlong ribwich (1923 Cheese Steaks, Section 22)

* Dry-rubbed wings (Boneyard Wings, Section 5)

* Street corn (Tunnel Taco Stands)

New brunch options for 11 a.m. kickoffs include:

* Tunnel Walk breakfast tacos

Club Level (Sections 302, 327, and 403)

* Prime Time ribeye sandwich

* Dry-rubbed wings (Sections 302 and 403 only)

* Big Red shortcake nachos

* Scotcharoos

*Big Red cookie

Club Level (Sections 407 and 305)

* Brisket-loaded nachos

* Smoked brisket sandwich

Outside food and beverages are not allowed inside Memorial Stadium, including samples or giveaways from sponsors.

Personal water bottles can be brought in the stadium empty and filled at fountains inside, though the athletics office said exceptions may be made in the case of high temperatures.

Alcohol will continue to be served at all Husker Athletics venues with a valid ID, which is needed regardless of age. Fans can only purchase two beverages per person, per transaction.

Alcohol service will end after the third quarter, or at the discretion of management.

Aramark, Nebraska Athletics, and Campus Recreation will once again offer a designated driver program at guest service locations in the east, west, and south concourses.

Adults who sign a pledge to be a designated driver will receive a coupon for a free small soft drink or water.