Expansion to John Cook Arena will ‘enhance’ everything surrounding Nebraska volleyball

Jake Homan,

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is offering Husker fans a first glimpse at next season’s seating plan in the John Cook Arena.

Capacity will now top 10,000, with roughly 2,000 new seats and chairbacks installed throughout the arena. That makes the Devaney Center one of the largest volleyball arenas in the country.

You’ll also see enhanced courtside seating, new box and club seats, and additional ADA seating, all with improved vantage points.

According to the Husker Athletic Fund, the expansion will enhance Nebraska’s home-court advantage, modernize amenities and provide new and premium general seating options. 

Those improvements include: 

  • New and improved seats with cupholders in each seat 
  • New centralized student section to enhance the impact of crowd noise on our opponents 
  • New and improved courtside seating with both end court and side court locations available. The Courtside Lounge offers access pre-game and during intermission, and includes private restrooms, televisions, and all-inclusive gourmet food, beverage and alcohol
  • New Loge Box seating with hospitality lounge access pre-game and during intermission, which includes access to private restrooms, televisions, and all-inclusive gourmet food and beverages with a cash bar. Available in both four-seat and six-seat configurations 
  • Libero Club seating replaces VIP seats. Located in the back row of the 100 level, seats include access to the Libero Club Lounge pre-game and during intermission
  • Additional ADA seating with new vantage points and easier access from around the concourse

Volleyball reporter Lincoln Arenal with HuskerMax calls this the spark of a new era, saying upgrades like this aren’t just needed for Nebraska volleyball, they’re needed across college sports.

“I think it’s needed for the stage of collegiate athletics. Reprioritizing volleyball is one of the crown jewel sports not just in Nebraska, but all of college volleyball, and all of Women’s athletics as well,” Arneal said. “It’s making this a premier sporting event venue.”

vb-seating-map-25

Arneal also says it’s a modern update the sport has needed. The increased donation requirements for season ticket holders have fans concerned they may be priced out.

“Season tickets are only $300 a seat, so that will be nice. But, it’s that donation on top of that where some people might be limited on the number of tickets they buy,” said Arneal. “It is unfortunate that it does price some people out, too. But, with supply and demand, there is a high demand, and there will be other people willing to pay that price.”

The good news is that the student section is getting a makeover with more centralized seating. It’s a reseating process unlike anything Nebraska volleyball has ever done.

The university’s timeline indicates that reseating will begin in June 2026.

Categories: Husker Sports, Sports
Tags: , , , , ,
Download the Channel 8 News app

Related