Best Sports and Entertainment: Osborne Legacy Complex | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks
2025 Midwest Best Projects
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 columbus oh dump truck 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 columbus oh dump truck 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.