NU regents approve downtown arena agreement with city of Lincoln
Lincoln Journal Star
February 12, 2010
By Deena Winter
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Friday approved an agreement to have the Husker basketball teams play in a new city arena, if Lincoln builds one.
The regents also endorsed the $344 million arena project that goes before Lincoln voters May 11.
The regents approved a "memorandum of understanding" with little discussion. The vote was unanimous, although Omaha regents Howard Hawks and Randy Ferlic were absent.
UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman called it a fair agreement that resulted from "serious and extended negotiations" with the city.
"I think this is just a critical project for the university and for the athletic department," Perlman told the regents before they voted.
The university would not likely be able to build an arena on its own, Perlman said, although it could renovate the Bob Devaney Sports Center. If the city vote fails, the university instead would renovate Devaney.
"But when you renovate a 40-year-old building, you still have a 40-year-old building," Perlman said.
