Year after year when headed for games at Nebraska University, we would stay at the Lamplighter Motel because it was the only motel in the south part of town. We called it the State Pen Inn because it was located across the street from a Nebraska correctional facility.
But progress wiped out the Lamplighter and more motels began to crop up in south Lincoln, mostly along Nebraska Highway 2. And, like most university cities, the motel prices spiked on football weekends so we opted to stay about 30 miles down the road in Syracuse.
What is there to do in Syracuse? Nothing. So it’s a good idea to arrive late and leave early the next morning. Most people park in downtown Lincoln, which isn’t very far from the stadium.
Arrive early and tour the NU campus, Morrill Hall in particular with its impressive dinosaur skeletons. And if you haven’t visited Nebraska’s State Capitol, known as the Tower of the Plains, you’re missing something. The Capitol is also downtown.
Guilty Pleasure: Driving by Sherman Field off South Street. Now used by youth teams, it’s a baseball facility that has changed little since 1956 when a Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand named Dick Stuart slugged 66 home runs while in a Lincoln uniform.
