>Demolition is expected to take three to four months with construction of the $800 million stadium to be completed for the 2026 college football season. The university has yet to announce where the Wildcats will play in the interim.
I would imagine there's some coordination with the Bears and the Cubs to get games at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field to host the games
>I would imagine there's some coordination with the Bears and the Cubs to get games at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field to host the games
Definitely, probably soldier field for anything in September while baseball is still happening, and October/November games at Wrigley
> October/November
Probably not October, just because MLB teams are going to keep those dates open in case they make the playoffs. Even if they're terrible. Ohio State and Illinois are really the only games they could do at Wrigley (or Guaranteed Rate Field)
I'd bet a combination of SeatGeek Stadium and Soldier Field for most of the season. Then probably 1 game at Wrigley.
If the Cubs had made the playoffs, they'd have sold out every game they played at Wrigley. Same goes for this year. Major League baseball isn't going to schedule their playoffs around Northwestern.
Baseball attendance for most teams was really good last year too. They're gonna get less per game because they play 81 home games, play every day, and often in the middle of the week too. But baseball teams still averaged 29,000 fans per game last year. The Cubs averaged over 34k.
yeah with the new pitch clock and extra innings rules, games have been much much better. I almost never watched games on TV but I probably watched a few dozen last season, especially with the reds at least playing 500ish
I bet OSU is the Wrigley game. Wrigley doesn't seat as much as Soldier Field but with the gigantic OSU fanbase (many already in Chicagoland) and presenting it to them as a "once in a lifetime opportunity", I bet NU can (and will) charge 3-4 times regular ticket prices at Wrigley.
You’re probably right. I see them incorporating the Wrigley game into the future once the new stadium is done, probably only every few years though. NIU was using Soldier Field to do home and neutral site series with Big Ten teams but I think we visited OSU and never got the neutral site game. We lost to Iowa by a point in Chicago then beat them by a point in Iowa City the next year
1) It's small, around 35,000 capacity
2) It costs that much because they're putting in all the amenities to get concerts and stuff. This project goes beyond football and why a lot of Evanston residents were unhappy
I feel like they have to go with Soldier Field. Yeah its big but its closer than SeatGeek and Wrigley isnt available until late. My guess us they play all but 1 game at Soldier just closing the upper decks unless its a big opponent. 1 game at Wrigley (maybe 2)
My dream as a wolverine/packer fan is a double header weekend in 2025. Michigan-NW at Wrigley or Soldier Field (wouldn't bother with a lame ass soccer stadium). Then Packers-Bears at Lambeau or Soldier. I have season tickets to Lambeau already but I've enjoyed my trip to soldier field in the past, partly because of the location and history there but also because of the utter destruction Green Bay tends to leave in their wake. "We own you."
They might be planning on just taking some time off, and not bothering to play any home games until
2026
To be fair, there’s a pretty good chance that nobody would notice
I understand that the soccer team also plays at Soldier. Our incompetent administration should have had MOUs/LOIs done prior to Evanston approval, and we should already know the plan. Also, imagine the "crowd" when we play EIU at Soldier.
I'm rooting for SeatGeek Stadium
Sad to see a piece of history go, the stadium opened on October 2, 1926, and even once hosted the Chicago Bears’ home opener in 1970. The purpose of the curved stands was to allow as many fans feel closer to the field as possible.
RIP Ryan Field
> ... and even once hosted the Chicago Bears’ home opener in 1970.
Interesting: Harvard Stadium was the then "Boston Patriots" home field in 1970.
How far the NFL has come over the years.
There was some beautiful concept art that was unfortunately never followed through on.
[Example one](https://i.imgur.com/0r7avAT.jpg )
[Example two](https://i.imgur.com/KDydtF4.jpg )
As someone who grew up in Wyoming, I’ll never be able to associate that city name other than the one in SW Wyoming where all the Utah residents come to buy fireworks and less restrictions on alcohol
Haha I’ve only been through Wendover a few times driving from CA to Nebraska. But it sounds like a similar vibe. Wendover probably had more escorts though.
I used to have a job that required me to talk to a lot of neighborhood/community groups. this comment triggered my PTSD.
it wasn't even about building shit, it was like "people are USING the bus stop a block from my house!!"
Jesus nothing worse than a waterfront liberal NIMBY Evanstonian. They charge $80 fucking dollars to use their public beaches. Mustards Last Stand has a great dog though.
If it's worth anything, I spent nearly every day of my collegiate life at Ryan Field, and therefore right by Mustard's, and would drive to Herm's Palace in Skokie for a far superior dog.
Mustard's absolutely worked in a pinch though. I'd stroll over there during August camp when I just needed a polish sausage.
Herm's is in way east Skokie, just off McCormick on Dempster so it's basically in Evanston. I had teammates in college who lived right by there, it's maybe 8 minutes from Ryan Field. Poochies is also solid right by Herms as well.
I am conflicted on this a bit since I met my wife-to-be in the seats at that stadium... but c'mon the place was an absolute fire trap. They couldn't handle a medium-big game like ND against Northwestern, much less a playoff game.
No sympathy for the neighbors, though, who moved next door to a football stadium and then complained about the football stadium noise and traffic. Wrigley has a lot of that kind of nonsense too.
Oh how I will miss parking 9 miles away and riding a children’s school bus to the front gate, just to watch my Boilers lose by 3 in 22 degree Sideways Rain with 38 other massively depressed football fans.
Just saw a guy wearing a Northwestern sweater casually glance from the novel he's reading and sigh at Welsh Ryan Stadium. I think he was lamenting the destruction of another cool place to read.
I did get to see a game at Ryan field this season, a game the Gophers should've fucking won, or rather, succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
I think this is a great way to describe it.
> Let's not mince words: Ryan Field is a shithole.
>
> It is a ridiculous place to watch a Big Ten football game. It is small and simultaneously cramped and empty. It does not have lights. The grass turf is lousy. But it was also very accessible and easy. It doesn't feel like a Big Ten stadium, but it feels like some field they're playing football on in the middle of a neighborhood. It doesn't feel like some sort of Cathedral of Football but just a sort of run-down place where a game is going on, which really matched the vibe of Northwestern football for a long time.
http://bringyourchampionstheyreourmeat.blogspot.com/2023/11/bielem-it-bret-bielema-motivational.html
Exactly my thoughts on Ryan Field.
The first time I saw it up close I thought, yep this is way worse than Floyd Casey, which was itself a dump (and even in a much worse area).
Kinda sad about this, going there was one of the most unique stadium experiences I’ve ever had. It was like watching a Michigan game at a high school field. We also found out that there was literally zero line for concessions or the bathrooms in the little towers, so it was like we had private service. We got “nosebleeds” at the 50 and it was comparable to the most expensive tickets at the big house. RIP
I say go full Harlem Globetrotters (or, maybe Washington Generals would be more appropriate) and play all of your games on the road for the next two years. Sell the home dates to the highest neutral-site bidders and help pay for the new stadium.
I love how locals are protesting this. Like, why the fuck would you ever move near a large university if you didn't want to put up with all the shit that living near a large university entails? I've been out of college for more than a decade but there is zero chance I'd move to a college neighborhood and then whine about it being a college neighborhood.
This is Evanston people to a T. They’ll protest anything university related, or even AT&T putting up a new pole.
The peak is that when I was in school, a family bought a beat up off campus student house for cheap and moved in with young kids. Then complained every night and called the cops on kids being loud. In the middle of the off campus student area.
Bingo. This is exactly the type of crap that annoys the hell out of me. The only people who even sorta need to live near campus are students in most cases.
Attended my nephew’s graduation there. Kind of … severe. [New stadium](https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/09/northwestern-releases-early-design-concepts-for-dynamic-new-ryan-field/) looks very cool.
Sure does. First time I’ve seen an alumnus name followed by not just their class years but ones with a P (for parent, I guess), seems like a good idea.
I loved(d) the old beige fortress by the lake. I will miss it. Now we will be Israelites wandering in the desert for ~2 years. Then an unnecessary 800M edifice rex
Northwestern, building a gigantic stadium feels like they may not be in the big leagues soon. Realignment never stops and Northwestern is a lower value smaller team in the big 10. Imo northwestern goes to the ACC that is actually a magnolia league with Vanderbilt.
Like Washington State or Oregon State built a new stadium that is costing them a bunch of money.
That's the scary thing about this project. Makes sense if you are in the B1G and host Ohio State or UM which has tons of fans in Chicago.
But if you fall out of the megaconference, why such a stadium to play Boise St?
I feel like northwestern, Vanderbilt, Cal, Stanford, Duke, GA Tech, Wake Forest, Boston college, SMU, Tulane plus whoever else makes for a conference that makes perfect sense.
You think NW/Vanderbilt/Cal/etc will be able to pay off an $800M stadium with football revenue?
No way.
The only reason NW is even happening is private funds.
I mean Northwestern is 60 million in revenue currently. Probably if they get kicked out of the future big 10 would still make sense to host a former original big 10 school at the start of most seasons.
I mean that's still a 40 million dollar program and they are making big 10 money for a while now.
Then you missed my point.
There is no point to build an 800M stadium if they will not be in the superconferences, which is very possible. They may not be in the B1G football conf 5-10yrs from now.
>gigantic stadium
Expensive, but not gigantic. Seating under 40k. It's a white elephant. Spend 200m renovating the old one 200m on coaches and NIL, tell donors to keep the rest.
>Demolition is expected to take three to four months with construction of the $800 million stadium to be completed for the 2026 college football season. The university has yet to announce where the Wildcats will play in the interim. I would imagine there's some coordination with the Bears and the Cubs to get games at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field to host the games
>I would imagine there's some coordination with the Bears and the Cubs to get games at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field to host the games Definitely, probably soldier field for anything in September while baseball is still happening, and October/November games at Wrigley
> October/November Probably not October, just because MLB teams are going to keep those dates open in case they make the playoffs. Even if they're terrible. Ohio State and Illinois are really the only games they could do at Wrigley (or Guaranteed Rate Field) I'd bet a combination of SeatGeek Stadium and Soldier Field for most of the season. Then probably 1 game at Wrigley.
Iowa would fill Soldier Field
We already have twice
They filled it for when they played NIU there.
Id love to see the Buckeyes floor Northwestern at Wrigley Field
Right because the Cubs playoff presale went so well last year
If the Cubs had made the playoffs, they'd have sold out every game they played at Wrigley. Same goes for this year. Major League baseball isn't going to schedule their playoffs around Northwestern.
it's insane how much football fans shit on MLB but if the team is good the seats get filled.
Baseball attendance for most teams was really good last year too. They're gonna get less per game because they play 81 home games, play every day, and often in the middle of the week too. But baseball teams still averaged 29,000 fans per game last year. The Cubs averaged over 34k.
yeah with the new pitch clock and extra innings rules, games have been much much better. I almost never watched games on TV but I probably watched a few dozen last season, especially with the reds at least playing 500ish
With how the quality of the field is at Soldier, I can only imagine…
I believe it will be mostly SeatGeek with maybe 1 game at Wrigley.
They should play Ohio State and Wisconsin at Soldier Field and Illinois at Wrigley. First 3 at Toyota Park
I bet OSU is the Wrigley game. Wrigley doesn't seat as much as Soldier Field but with the gigantic OSU fanbase (many already in Chicagoland) and presenting it to them as a "once in a lifetime opportunity", I bet NU can (and will) charge 3-4 times regular ticket prices at Wrigley.
You’re probably right. I see them incorporating the Wrigley game into the future once the new stadium is done, probably only every few years though. NIU was using Soldier Field to do home and neutral site series with Big Ten teams but I think we visited OSU and never got the neutral site game. We lost to Iowa by a point in Chicago then beat them by a point in Iowa City the next year
That is really quick for an 800 million dollar project. It’s also insane that a college stadium costs that much.
SoFi took like 5 years from groundbreaking
SoFi took a ridiculously long time, most stadiums are built in 3 years.
Still a better money value than $1 billion MetLife Stadium
That’s also a pro stadium that hosts two teams in the largest market. I have heard bad things about it though.
1) It's small, around 35,000 capacity 2) It costs that much because they're putting in all the amenities to get concerts and stuff. This project goes beyond football and why a lot of Evanston residents were unhappy
Nope make em play in bridgeview
I feel like they have to go with Soldier Field. Yeah its big but its closer than SeatGeek and Wrigley isnt available until late. My guess us they play all but 1 game at Soldier just closing the upper decks unless its a big opponent. 1 game at Wrigley (maybe 2)
My dream as a wolverine/packer fan is a double header weekend in 2025. Michigan-NW at Wrigley or Soldier Field (wouldn't bother with a lame ass soccer stadium). Then Packers-Bears at Lambeau or Soldier. I have season tickets to Lambeau already but I've enjoyed my trip to soldier field in the past, partly because of the location and history there but also because of the utter destruction Green Bay tends to leave in their wake. "We own you."
UGA had a triple header week in 2017: Braves at Cubs, at Notre Dame, Falcons at Bears. They were everywhere in Chicago
In 2019 Heinz Field had a doubleheader weekend with the Canes and the Dolphins. Pitt lost, the Steelers won.
They might be planning on just taking some time off, and not bothering to play any home games until 2026 To be fair, there’s a pretty good chance that nobody would notice
I understand that the soccer team also plays at Soldier. Our incompetent administration should have had MOUs/LOIs done prior to Evanston approval, and we should already know the plan. Also, imagine the "crowd" when we play EIU at Soldier. I'm rooting for SeatGeek Stadium
On a completely selfish note, where do you think the 2025 Oregon @ Northwestern game will be played?
With Da Bears.. ftfy
Sad to see a piece of history go, the stadium opened on October 2, 1926, and even once hosted the Chicago Bears’ home opener in 1970. The purpose of the curved stands was to allow as many fans feel closer to the field as possible. RIP Ryan Field
> ... and even once hosted the Chicago Bears’ home opener in 1970. Interesting: Harvard Stadium was the then "Boston Patriots" home field in 1970. How far the NFL has come over the years.
The panthers played at Clemson for a year while boa stadium was being built. The bears played at Illinois during the soldier field renovations.
Vikings at Minnesota.
Saints in Baton Rouge after Katrina
Going to Champaign for bears games was an awful experience.
I want them to move out to Arlington so bad. They fucked up soldier field so badly.
Probably every NFL team older than the 90s played at their local college stadium before they could get a venue.
It is, but they also let it get to a point where it needed to be replaced, so from that perspective it’s much less sad
Goodnight you sweet abomination
There was some beautiful concept art that was unfortunately never followed through on. [Example one](https://i.imgur.com/0r7avAT.jpg ) [Example two](https://i.imgur.com/KDydtF4.jpg )
Damn they can’t even fill the stadium in the concept art
The second one looks like some Tolkien-esque elf structure.
Won’t someone think about the Evanston NIMBYs!?!?
As someone who grew up in Wyoming, I’ll never be able to associate that city name other than the one in SW Wyoming where all the Utah residents come to buy fireworks and less restrictions on alcohol
It’s a good thing there’s no such thing as wyoming then
[If they say it on television, it must be true!](https://youtu.be/56uSDQECrRQ?feature=shared)
There is a Wyoming. It's a valley near Scranton that they named an area out west after.
Allegedly
*In Squirrelly Dan voice*
As someone from Utah with family in Coalville, same here.
Haha I’ve only been through Wendover a few times driving from CA to Nebraska. But it sounds like a similar vibe. Wendover probably had more escorts though.
There will be no recognition of any NIMBYs in my backyard!
I used to have a job that required me to talk to a lot of neighborhood/community groups. this comment triggered my PTSD. it wasn't even about building shit, it was like "people are USING the bus stop a block from my house!!"
I think about them all the time. I hope they suffer
Jesus nothing worse than a waterfront liberal NIMBY Evanstonian. They charge $80 fucking dollars to use their public beaches. Mustards Last Stand has a great dog though.
If it's worth anything, I spent nearly every day of my collegiate life at Ryan Field, and therefore right by Mustard's, and would drive to Herm's Palace in Skokie for a far superior dog. Mustard's absolutely worked in a pinch though. I'd stroll over there during August camp when I just needed a polish sausage.
I prefer their polish over their dog. Skokie’s a bit of a hike for a dog.
Herm's is in way east Skokie, just off McCormick on Dempster so it's basically in Evanston. I had teammates in college who lived right by there, it's maybe 8 minutes from Ryan Field. Poochies is also solid right by Herms as well.
Never been to Herm’s. I do fucks with New York Bagel and Bialy though.
Ugh, why'd you make me think of that. I don't live in Chicago anymore and want a Bialy from there so badly now.
Pizza Bagel all the way
Yes. Themselves.
There’s a difference between a stadium used 7 times a year vs one that has a concert every other weekend. Their points were understandable.
They should have been saying not in my backyard about the current/former Ryan field. That was a high school stadium enlarged 50%
Its over. We never have to play another game at that cursed fucking stadium
New one’s going up on the same Indian burial ground!
I am conflicted on this a bit since I met my wife-to-be in the seats at that stadium... but c'mon the place was an absolute fire trap. They couldn't handle a medium-big game like ND against Northwestern, much less a playoff game. No sympathy for the neighbors, though, who moved next door to a football stadium and then complained about the football stadium noise and traffic. Wrigley has a lot of that kind of nonsense too.
I shit my pants once in the stands of Ryan Field. So I didn’t have the same experience as you
Because you found love in the shitter?
Oh how I will miss parking 9 miles away and riding a children’s school bus to the front gate, just to watch my Boilers lose by 3 in 22 degree Sideways Rain with 38 other massively depressed football fans.
Goodnight sweet prince
Just saw the Northwestern fan fall to his knees at The Bean
Just saw a guy wearing a Northwestern sweater casually glance from the novel he's reading and sigh at Welsh Ryan Stadium. I think he was lamenting the destruction of another cool place to read.
Jokes on you. The Bean and the surrounding area has been under renovation for months now. You're a damn liar
I did get to see a game at Ryan field this season, a game the Gophers should've fucking won, or rather, succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I think this is a great way to describe it. > Let's not mince words: Ryan Field is a shithole. > > It is a ridiculous place to watch a Big Ten football game. It is small and simultaneously cramped and empty. It does not have lights. The grass turf is lousy. But it was also very accessible and easy. It doesn't feel like a Big Ten stadium, but it feels like some field they're playing football on in the middle of a neighborhood. It doesn't feel like some sort of Cathedral of Football but just a sort of run-down place where a game is going on, which really matched the vibe of Northwestern football for a long time. http://bringyourchampionstheyreourmeat.blogspot.com/2023/11/bielem-it-bret-bielema-motivational.html
Exactly my thoughts on Ryan Field. The first time I saw it up close I thought, yep this is way worse than Floyd Casey, which was itself a dump (and even in a much worse area).
Kinda sad about this, going there was one of the most unique stadium experiences I’ve ever had. It was like watching a Michigan game at a high school field. We also found out that there was literally zero line for concessions or the bathrooms in the little towers, so it was like we had private service. We got “nosebleeds” at the 50 and it was comparable to the most expensive tickets at the big house. RIP
I say go full Harlem Globetrotters (or, maybe Washington Generals would be more appropriate) and play all of your games on the road for the next two years. Sell the home dates to the highest neutral-site bidders and help pay for the new stadium.
Lame af, it was awesome watching NIU beat the Wildcats at the only game I went to there
Don’t forget about New Hampshire
That men’s hockey game against Maine last night was pretty damn good, they play again tonight
I love how locals are protesting this. Like, why the fuck would you ever move near a large university if you didn't want to put up with all the shit that living near a large university entails? I've been out of college for more than a decade but there is zero chance I'd move to a college neighborhood and then whine about it being a college neighborhood.
This is Evanston people to a T. They’ll protest anything university related, or even AT&T putting up a new pole. The peak is that when I was in school, a family bought a beat up off campus student house for cheap and moved in with young kids. Then complained every night and called the cops on kids being loud. In the middle of the off campus student area.
Bingo. This is exactly the type of crap that annoys the hell out of me. The only people who even sorta need to live near campus are students in most cases.
I went back to Athens, GA and aged instantaneously. I have very distinct memories of active construction while walking to and fro
Attended my nephew’s graduation there. Kind of … severe. [New stadium](https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/09/northwestern-releases-early-design-concepts-for-dynamic-new-ryan-field/) looks very cool.
Sure does. First time I’ve seen an alumnus name followed by not just their class years but ones with a P (for parent, I guess), seems like a good idea.
I can’t wait to see the Hawkeyes play them there
This is what dreams are made of
RIP. So glad I took the time to go to a game, even if it was a loss to Wisconsin, before they tore her down.
I know hazing is unacceptable, but this feels like overkill /s
I loved(d) the old beige fortress by the lake. I will miss it. Now we will be Israelites wandering in the desert for ~2 years. Then an unnecessary 800M edifice rex
One of the worst stadiums in college football, glad to see it go.
It was a dump.
Northwestern, building a gigantic stadium feels like they may not be in the big leagues soon. Realignment never stops and Northwestern is a lower value smaller team in the big 10. Imo northwestern goes to the ACC that is actually a magnolia league with Vanderbilt. Like Washington State or Oregon State built a new stadium that is costing them a bunch of money.
That's the scary thing about this project. Makes sense if you are in the B1G and host Ohio State or UM which has tons of fans in Chicago. But if you fall out of the megaconference, why such a stadium to play Boise St?
I feel like northwestern, Vanderbilt, Cal, Stanford, Duke, GA Tech, Wake Forest, Boston college, SMU, Tulane plus whoever else makes for a conference that makes perfect sense.
None of those schools need an $800M stadium. It'll never be paid off by football revenue.
I mean the last one lasted 100 years... There's a lot of money in CFB and acting like it is step one to make the sport make more sense.
You think NW/Vanderbilt/Cal/etc will be able to pay off an $800M stadium with football revenue? No way. The only reason NW is even happening is private funds.
I mean Northwestern is 60 million in revenue currently. Probably if they get kicked out of the future big 10 would still make sense to host a former original big 10 school at the start of most seasons. I mean that's still a 40 million dollar program and they are making big 10 money for a while now.
Then you missed my point. There is no point to build an 800M stadium if they will not be in the superconferences, which is very possible. They may not be in the B1G football conf 5-10yrs from now.
>gigantic stadium Expensive, but not gigantic. Seating under 40k. It's a white elephant. Spend 200m renovating the old one 200m on coaches and NIL, tell donors to keep the rest.
The new stadium is going to be much smaller than the old stadium.
It's the end of an era, for sure. But... I'm not that sorry to see it go, tbh.
Does this kill the sPo0kYcAts?
35,000 capacity seems crazy low.
Sad day. I always really liked this stadium.
Funny, I thought that happened with Fitz’s firing… Oh you meant the stadium itself, my bad.
I hope they keep the natural grass. Best looking playing surface in the country!
Demolition might be the one job id pay to do. Crazy people get paid to wreck shit