On September 22, 2021, Northwestern announced that the Ryan family had donated $480 million to the university, providing initial funding for replacing the original Ryan Field with a new stadium at the current site.[2][3] A year later, Northwestern announced initial design concepts for the new stadium, and that the Ryan family had committed to adding to their initial stadium gift.
The stadium is projected to open in September 2026, at a preliminary cost of $850 million, making it the most expensive college football stadium in the country. Led by the architecture firms HNTB and Perkins&Will, the stadium will have a capacity of 35,000, a reduction of 12,000 from the previous facility and the smallest football stadium in the Big Ten Conference. The final budget was modestly increased to $862 million after the addition of a club area dedicated to younger Northwestern alumni.[4]
Features
The new stadium is projected to be 78 percent larger than its predecessor to accommodate club and plaza areas for entertainment and dining spaces. The stadium will have a canopy for spectator weather protection and for sound retention as a competitive advantage. As was not required at the time of the original 1926 opening, the stadium will also contain required ADA-compliant seats.[5][6] According to the Front Office Sports website, "The venue's defining characteristic is intimacy." The new stadium's premium seating area starts 90 feet (27m) from the field, and the most distant seats in the stadium are 135 feet (41m) away. By contrast, the highest-priced seats at the largest college football venue, Michigan Stadium, are 235 feet (72m) from the field, and the most distant seats are 253 feet (77m) from the sideline.[4]
Northwestern's plan to use the new stadium as a commercial concert venue had been met with opposition from stadium neighbors and other Evanston residents.[7] Issues included Northwestern's alleged failure to address issues of noise, parking, traffic congestion, and public safety.[8] Additionally, some have questioned the stadium's continuing to have a property tax exemption while being used for commercial purposes. However, the new stadium was approved for six concerts during summer 2027. Northwestern will also use the new stadium as its women's lacrosse home, and the local Evanston Township High School will play its home football games there. Pat Ryan Jr., son of the new stadium's namesake, called the high school a "second anchor tenant".[4]
Construction
On January 20, 2024, it was announced that a demolition process, without explosives, would begin on January 29. The process is expected to take 4 to 6 months, after confirmation that a new, $850 million stadium would replace the current, aging one.[9] The new stadium is currently under construction.[10] Northwestern's football team is temporarily playing at Martin Field.
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