Leave the cash at home: Changes coming to Memorial Stadium experience

There are a couple of changes coming to the game day experience at Memorial Stadium.

A new walk-through security system at Memorial Stadium doesn’t just check for metal. Starting this Saturday, it will also look for the shape, location and wavelength of items that could be used as weapons.

It’s manufactured by a company called Evolv, and will be used in conjunction with the school’s clear bag policy.

Tim Henrichs is the event management director for Husker Athletics.

“This system is FDA approved,” Henrichs said. “They've tested over 150 pacemakers or other implantable devices.”

Sunglass cases might set off the device but the secondary screening takes less than a minute, Henrichs said.

With Husker football opening its second season under head coach Matt Rhule on Saturday against the University of Texas El Paso, the athletic department also announced that cash won’t be accepted at Memorial Stadium this season. Fans will need to use their cards to pay for concessions.

People running throughout the stadium selling food and drinks will have mobile card readers as well.

Haven Fields is the chief operating officer for Husker Athletics. Fields said the move looks to modernize the fan experience at Nebraska.

“When people come to a venue, you're trying to create this, what some might call a ‘Disney experience,’ from the time they get out of their cars to the time they come inside of a stadium,” Fields said.

There are going to be about 100 more “points of sale” at the stadium compared to last season.

Nebraska kicks off the 2024 campaign inside Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.