The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, October 20, 1923, Stadium Dedication Edition, Image 4

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    r . THE nATLY NEBRASKAN
,
BUILDING OF NEW
MEMORIAL STADIUM
WAS SERIOUS TASK
Large Labor Force and Much
Material Used in
Construction
The building of the stadium was
a far bigger task than is generally
realized. In the first place, the archi
tects, John Latenser and Son, of Om
aha, and Ellery Davis of Lincoln,
spent considerable time in planning
it. A trip was made to naigboring
stadiums, particular attention being
paid to the one at Ohio State. Our
stadium resembles the latter more
than any other.
Certain requisites of our stadium,
( pecially the fact that all seats were
to be close to the field and that a
track 2100 feet long had to be in
cluded inside the stands, made cer
tain changes necessary. Overhang
ing balconies, from which the track
cannot be seen, reduced the neces
sary height of the stadium to 70 feet
and thus the situation was met.
The contract for building the stad
ium was let the Parsons Construc
tion Company of Omaha on May 2,
and the contractors agreed to com
plete it so that it could be used for
the 1923 football season. This con
tract gave the contractors eighty
nine working days to do the work
and thirty-one of these were totally
or partially lost on account of the
weather.
The grading done kept forty men
and fifty horses as well as two cater
pillar tractors hauling four wagon
trains, busy hauling dirt away. A
giant shovel, moving 700 cubic yards
of dirt a day, was used. Sixty-six
thousand cubic yards of dirt were
moved in the grading work. The
playing field was made eight feet
below the old one.
Materials Used
The material used in the construc
tion of the stadium was concrete and
steel. 16,000 cubic yards of con
crete were used, 6,000 for the four
towers and 1,000 for each of the
ten Beating sections. 200 cubic yds
of concrete a day were poured when
the forms were ready. 600 carloads
of sand were used in the concrete,
each carload weighing 120,000 lbs,
making 72,000,000 pounds in all
128,000 gallons of water were also
used in the concrete. 350,000 feet
of lumber was used in making forms,
seats, etc. 660 tons of steel were
used in reinforcing the concrete. In
the steel construction, a carload of
bolts was used.
In making the seats, 16,500 seat
blocks were used which were held in
place by 78,500 screws. In the guide
rails on the box seats three carloads
of galvanized pipe railing were neces
sary. The weekly pay-roll of the
Parsons Construction Company while
construction was in full swing, was
?5,500 a week.
The playing field has two feet of
black dirt under the sawdust in order
to give the best kind of surface. The
drainage system consists of a 27 inch
pipe around the field to the nort end
where it empties into a stoim sewer.
At intervals of 50 feet along the
sides of the field, catch basins are
placed. This system has proven its
worth several times all ready.
Uses of Field
The stadium is being built in order
to accomodate all branches of ath
letics. Besides the football field anc
outdoor running track, the stadium
contains space for an indoor running
track and indoor basketball, Hand
ball, and tennis courts.
The indoor runing track, when it
completed, will be insHe the stand
under the passage leading from the
main xoncourse to the ramps
will be 430 feet long under the
stands, twenty feet high, and ten
feet wide.
The huge room which will contain
the indoor courts will also bo undei
the stands, -nd is to be 430 feet long
forty feet wide, and eighteen feet
high. In this .room spaces will be
marked off for basketball, handball
and tenni3 courts.
is
OCTOBER ISSUE OF
JOURNAL APPEARS
Alumni Publication Features
Spirit of '27 and Dedication
of Stadium
The October issue of the Univers
ity Journal, monthly alumni publica
tion edited by Wilbur Peterson was
issued this week by the Alumni As
sociation of the University of Ne
braska. The second issue of the
school year featured the Spirit of '27
and the dedication of the new Me
morial Stadium.
The Journal is published for. the
purpose of keeping the alumni of the
institution in closer touch with stu
dent and alumni activities.
Of the nine sections concerned
with different phases of school life
the dedication of the new Memorial
Stadium and the Spirit of the Class
of '27 are foremost. Alumni were
urgred to attend the dedication exer
cises and plans for the Homecoming
and Dedication were anounced in de
tail in the stadium article.
"Campus News" deals with the
Fraternity Scholarship report to
gether with the financial report of
institution. Prospects for the com
ing grid season were discussed in the
section devoted to athletics while
alumni clubs and various.- types of
news concerning Nebraska graduates
completed the' publication.
The anual freshmen convocation
attendance was illustrated together
with the "long remembered sky-line"
of the University of Nebraska. (
Harvard Dean Visits
Two Departments of
Nebraska University
Dean Gay of Harvard and Secre
tary of Committee on Religious In
struction in American Universities,
is at present visiting the University.
His visit is for the purpose of sur
veying the facilities of the depart
ment of philosophy and history. He
will probably spend at least a week
in his work of inspecting these departments.
The World's. Series
Has Already Been-Settled!
In fact
, it has been settled
several times,
in our Clothing Department,
where the college fellows
are buying their fall .
Suits and Topcoats
MMSEE'
1
Uncle Jimmy Husker Discusses
Nebraska's Football Schedule
"Don't you think it was a mistake
to meet Illinois in the first game of
the season?" asked the Cub Reporter.
"Well, I've been thinking about
that," said Uncle Jimmy. "All last
week I kept wondering about that
very question. My friend the barber
who was sure way last spring, so he
says, that we'd lose the game gave
me a rather wise look. The man on
the corner who bet three and a half
on Illinois claims that it was all
right to play then. A graduate well
not really a graduate but a chap
who once started going to Nebraska
is positive that a mistake was made
in meeting Illini this year. He claims
we should wait until we have a really
big team before we tackle such a
strong aggregation. (He's strong for
the Chicago American system of
learning to swim on dry land. ) Even
the old varsity man shook his head
doubtingly concerning this early
season game with Illinois."
"Yes. sir, last week I rather felt
that a mistake had been made. Some
how you see I remember the great
old years of the past when we were
in the habit of beating 'em all. Why
I can remember when we used to win
practically every game on the sched
ule. There were years and years
when we went absolutely undefeated
against such teams as Colorado, So.
Dakota, Wesleyan, Doane, Central
College, Grand Island and a scatter
ing of other teams of rank includ
ing Lincoln High. Those were the
happy days. No worry at all about
the games. We'd just ease ourselves
into our seats and prepare for vic
tory and we rarely ever had cause
for complaint. To be sure there
were always a few men who might
be heard loudly voicing their dissatis
faction with the scores we made. But
then you can't expect to please
everyone."
"The coaching staff may be all
right but somebody is a mighty poor
schedule nicker. In fact schedule
making isn't what it used to be. In
the srood old days you'd pick the
tpams that vou were sure to lick.
Those old schedule makers taught the
world a valuable lesson too. Why it
was only through an intensive study
of some of the old masters in foot
bail schedule making that the world
has been able to produce such master
artists as Kearns and Rickard and the
other great set-up builders of the
modern wrestling and boxing world.
Yes sir, the next addition to the ath
letic staff at. least in an advisory
capacity should be that wily modern
schedule picker old Tex Rickard
He'd put us over big. He'd nose
around and the minute he'd find a
big western conference institution
slated for a lean year on the gridiron
he'd quietly slip 'em the tip that
Nebraska University could let 'em
have a game the while he'd assure
them that the Huskers would be a
mere push over. He'd get them all
signed up on the dotted line and then
hustle around and establish a big
slush fund and have a real team. Yes
sir, Rickard's the man we need."
"Of course Rickard might have a
little trouble persuading a western
conference to meet Nebraska. It's
barely possible tha the "Big Ten"
schools feel about the matter as they
have in past years. It is barely pos
sible that they's figure Nebraska too
hard for anything but a major game
and find enough major games in their
own group. Hut even at that iit's
apparent that such a smooth tim,.
as Rickard would find enough set-un
to satisfy the sure-thing, push-ovel
advocates."
"That's how I felt about it all W
week, but since Saturday's game I'
been wavering a bit. It looked to me
as if our fighting Huskers must have
gotten something really big from
their battle with the Illini. Old-head
Owens seemed to come to that same
conclusion after he watched the hard,
smashing Huskers take all the breaks
away trorfl his Sooner veterans and
lick them in startling fashion. Bennie
saw the Illinois game and until Satur
day afternoon about 3:30 he feit
rather certain that his boys from the
Klu Klux state were slated to wip9
out some rather ungentle scores of
past years. But between one Satur.
day afternoon and the next it seemed
that much of the green fuzz had
been rubbed off and the Huskers
were all there and over."
"But .don't you think that the
schedule this season is
Pretty
heavy?" insisted the Cub Reporter
"Well, maybe," agreed Uncle
Jimnyr "but I'm beginning to think
that Nebraskans would rather light
it out with a few big Muskies even
if occasionally one of 'em snaps the
line, than to catch a whole pail full'
of perch and bullheads."
TTH ins
(lis t WmlfM
The cut makes them differed
It's the cut that makes an overcoat, no
less than a suit Here are two models
very different in effect, yet each is smart
because of its cut. The Hampton at the
left a half-belted semi-ulster with
patch pockets. Barrymore a double
breasted box coat with regular pockets.
A great variety of overcoats at $50 and $55
Others as low as $40
ill A V
UTO
BROS.
CO.
Eli Shire, Pres.