Nebraska to propose alcohol sales at PBA, renovations, new multimedia deal

Some major changes look like they are coming to Nebraska athletics.

The university announced three new proposals that will be voted on by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents at their Friday, Sept. 30 meeting:

>> Alcohol sales at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

>> Memorial Stadium renovations.

>> The university's new multimedia rights deal and new partner.

The Board of Regents will be voting on whether or not to allow alcohol sales for men's and women's basketball games at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Those alcohol sales would begin at the start of the upcoming men's and women's basketball seasons. Both of the Husker men's and women's teams open the season on Nov. 7 as the men's team faces Maine, and the women's team faces Omaha.

Renovations are being proposed for the football stadium as part of the Memorial Stadium Improvement Project.

The proposal will request a third-party construction management team oversee the new renovations. Details of those renovations have not yet been made clear, but the recent fan survey, released in March, for improvements that fans want to be made at the stadium are being taken into account.

Nebraska athletics programs would experience a big boom behind the school's new monster multimedia rights deal that will be proposed.

The Board of Regents will be voting on a 15-year deal with Playfly Sports Properties that is valued at over $300 million with $273.6 million guaranteed. The agreement would run from Oct. 1, 2022 through June 30, 2038.

Included as part of that proposed agreement is $2.25 million for NIL fund operations: $1 million of that NIL fund would be expended on or before June 30, 2025, and the remaining $1.25 million would be expended on or before June 30, 2038.

Previously, Alberts had a 12-year proposal with JMI Sports that was worth a reported $200 million in guaranteed money, according to KLIN. But the deal fell through in the spring, and Nebraska had been looking for a new multimedia partner ever since. The university has been handling multimedia operations with its in-house multimedia program since July 1, 2021 but has been looking for an external multimedia rights partner over the last year.

The university has found a partner in Playfly Sports, which is also partnered with notable schools such as the SEC's Auburn, Florida and LSU, in addition to the Big Ten's Maryland and Michigan State – plus USC, which will join the conference in 2024. Playfly is also partnered with several MLB, NBA and NHL teams.

UPDATE: The 15-year deal with Playfly has been announced by the university and athletic department. The deal is awaiting official approval as it awaits the board's vote at the meeting next Friday.

“We are pleased for the opportunity to work with Playfly as our multi-media rights partner over the next 15 years. In our discussions, we quickly found they will be a true partner who shares the same level of commitment and passion for collegiate athletics as Nebraska,” said Trev Alberts, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at Nebraska. “They are a growing company who is innovative, creative, and ready to adapt to the evolving collegiate athletics environment. We are excited this agreement will continue to help Nebraska Athletics provide resources to support our student-athletes.”

Christy Hedgpeth, President at Playfly Sports Properties, said in a statement: “Nebraska is one of the premier athletic programs in the country, and we are honored that Trev Alberts, his staff, and the university have entrusted us with such an important element of their future growth and success. Playfly is incredibly energized to support the Huskers with innovative marketing and media solutions that seek to improve the experience of Nebraska’s student-athletes, fans, and alumni across the state and throughout the country.”

We will have more coming later today at Inside Nebraska with more details on these proposals.

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