Sports
Northwestern University Debuts New Ryan Field
After two years of construction, Friday marked a new era of football at Northwestern University as the team continued its winning season in the brand new Ryan Field.
The Wildcats defeated Penn State 34-13 during the stadium’s sold-out debut exactly 100 years to the day since the last Northwestern stadium opened.
The new Ryan Field is the most expensive college football stadium ever. It’s an $870 million development featuring closer seats, classic Chicago food and new game-day festivities.
The stadium was funded, in part, by a $480 million gift from the Ryan family, the largest donation in Northwestern’s history. No taxpayer dollars were used to help fund the stadium rebuild.
Pat Ryan Jr., CEO of Ryan Sports Development, said the new stadium was needed to set up Northwestern for future success.
“These are hundred-year decisions,” Ryan Jr. said. “How do you make a hundred-year decision? You make something that’s gonna stand the test of time. And the other piece is that Northwestern, with everything Northwestern does — whether it’s nanotechnology, the performing arts, economics, life sciences — everything is done at the highest order of excellence, and so we were really just bringing the football facility up to the kind of quality that the other facilities on campus are at.”
The new Ryan Field has about 12,000 fewer seats than the old stadium with a 35,000-seat capacity, despite the building being 320,000 square feet larger.
One of the stadium’s new features takes a play out of the European soccer book. Dubbed the “Wildcat Wall,” the standing-only student section can hold up to 2,000 fans. The wall is also meant to bring more noise and energy to the stadium to account for Northwestern having the smallest student body in the Big Ten.
The new stadium features a plethora of food options. The Great Chicago Food Festival is included with ticket purchase before every game and concert, including eats from James Beard Award winners, Chicago-based restaurants and a $5 menu.
Ryan Jr. said these additions are the way to keep fans coming back.
“You ask the question, ‘Why do people go to games?’” Ryan Jr. said. “They go to games to share experiences. No one goes to a game alone. They go with friends, they go with family, they go with classmates, they go for a set of experiences, which ultimately are the happy memories you have in your life.”
Ryan Field is also set to host up to six concerts per year beginning in 2027, though no artists or dates have been announced. There are also plans for festivals, guest speakers and other sporting events.
Community members have pushed back on the additional events, citing concerns about noise, traffic and who the events might bring to Evanston.
Despite the pushback, a 2023 survey found that 56% of Evanston residents supported the Ryan Field rebuild project. This came after a 2022 financial impact study found the project is expected to generate $1.2 billion for the Evanston community by 2031.
After months of debate between residents and members of Evanston City Council, Northwestern announced a community benefits agreement that aims to support city services and programs. The $100 million agreement spans 10 years and includes investments in Evanston Township High School, workforce development programs and other local nonprofits and schools.
“I think it’s easy to catastrophize things,” Ryan Jr. said. “But the reality is, there were six concerts on the golf course 200 yards away before we ever started this. So it’s not that it’s all new, I think there’s a lot of town (and) gown when things have Northwestern involved. And I think there were people who were worried about that. And the only way to deal with that is to keep your promises.”
