Northwestern’s new Ryan Field isn’t close to being the biggest stadium in Power 4 college football, but it already can be declared as the best across the entire sport. With all due respect to some of the classic venues in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12. newer and more modern does mean a lot better.
After a near-century playing in the old Ryan Field, the Wildcats were overdue for a fancier, classier venue. With the goal of making it the premier luxury experience for all fans who enter the stadium, Ryan Field’s lives up to all of the hype. It will change the way that fans want to consume college football in an ever-changing environment.
MORE: Week 5 picks against the spread for Top 25 games
Brian Bender
With a record-shattering financial investment and features never before seen on the global non-professional level, Northwestern boasts the best and coziest place to call home for football for many years to come. Here’s 26 reasons that make that a definitive stadium statement:
It’s the most intimate big-game setting in college football …
The seating in new Ryan Field is more like a throwback baseball park with only 35,000 seats, down from 47,500 at old Ryan Field. There’s still plenty more room in the stadium overall.
… but it’s also a big comfortable space for the game-day experience.
With the idea of removing nosebleed views, the seating capacity is smaller by design in relation to the stadium being 520,000 square feet larger than old Ryan Field, with 320,00 of those square feet dedicated to interior expansion.
It’s designed to be much more wide open than old Ryan Field.
Fans will notice the field in the new stadium is now 21 feet below grade. Although new Ryan Field is 20 feet shorter than the old one, the average height around the stadium feels higher.
It has the real feel of a modern NFL stadium.
Just like all the recent new pro football venues in bigger cities, the experience of the entire stadium is considered a lot more than just the seating.
It is inspired by European football stadiums, too.
New Ryan Field is the ultimate intersection of sports and fan entertainment, with the student section and canopy concepts being more effective than alternatives.
MORE: The September Heisman goes to … Jeremiah Smith
Brian Bender
The student section is ideal for the most passionate fans.
Dubbed the “Wildcat Wall” and located in the upper end zone, the goal is help make students go as wild as possible like European football supporters.
There’s a canopy to keep everyone warm and dry, too.
Instead of a retractable or standing covered roof, there’s a 300,000-square feet canopy to protect every fan in the stadium from the elements that tend to come with late fall near Lake Michigan.
Brian Bender
Every seat and walkway has a great view of the action.
New Ryan Field makes great use of structural steel to cantilever multiple levels over the field, which puts every seat looking down on the field. The highest and farthest seat in the upper deck is only 135 feet above the sidelines.
Every seat is a comfortable seat.
Gone are the old-school bleachers and benches. Now Northwestern fans will get to enjoy individual chairs with armrests and cupholders to bring a piece of home to the Wildcats’ home.
It’s the most accessible stadium of its kind.
New Ryan Field goes above and beyond being ADA-compliant, treating those fans who need assistance as royalty with such seating found throughout the stadium and no ramps between concourses.
The playing surface is what the NFL and FIFA prefer.
The Trico One Field System is the premier installation of FieldTurf that meets the latest standards set by NFL Players Association and FIFA Quality Pro just this year.
The videoboards in the end zone are awesome …
The LED displays in the north and south end zones each measure 45 feet tall by 100 feet wide with an 8 mm pixel pitch.
.. and so are the screens and ribbons everywhere.
Go into into the stadium’s North Great Hall to find a tight-pitch outdoor 1.2 mm display measuring almost 11 feet tall and 24 feet wide with 1,270 linear feet of LED ribbons. There’s also a 10 mm mid-bowl LED ribbon on the upper concourse, spanning almost 1,200 feet. In all, there are 244 televisions scattered throughout the stadium.
Brian Bender
It’s a foodies’ paradise …
With Chicago being a known culinary paradise, the eatables in Evanston’s new stadium are an extension of that. Hungry fans who appreciate gourmet selection will get to visit “The Village” to buy concessions from Rick Bayless’ famed Frontera, Stephanie Izard’s Goatdown, Gibson’s Tavern, the rotating James Beard chefs at The Medallion and Dimmi Dimmi.
While rooting on the ‘Cats or the other team, it’s a connoisseur’s delight but also there for those who love cookout food.
.. but it’s also an extended tailgate.
“The Great Big Ten Grill” inside offers elevated favorites including hamburgers, hot dogs and BBQ chicken with premium sides. From the classic Chicago dives to what’s popular at other conference stadiums, no one will leave hungry and everyone will leave full.
MORE: Breaking down the Week 5 Big Ten slate
It’s a party inside before kickoff, too.
Combining both experiences above, “The Great Chicago Food Festival” is the expansive game-day celebration for ticket-holders at Ryan Field. There’s also a wing to give Evanston and the North Shore their special local flavor, adding to the fun before kickoffs and concerts.
It’s a nod to Northwestern’s long football tradition.
The opening date of Friday night, Oct. 2 is intentional. It is 100 years to the day that old Ryan Field (then Dyche Stadium) opened for play in 1926.
It’s a tribute to Northwestern small but loyal fan base.
Northwestern Wildcats fans are different than a lot of Big Ten fan bases as a non-state school, creating a diverse student body and alumni base that stretches across the nation and world. Big-name journalism and entertainment grads such as Michael Wilbon, Mike Greenberg and Seth Meyers give celebrity flair to a tight-knit club from all walks of life.
There was no expense spared for the fans
The price tag of $875 million is the highest ever for construction of a college football stadium. It can been see throughout Ryan Field, inside and out, with modern facilities that blow away most NFL stadiums.
There was no expense for the community, either
Led by patriarch Patrick Ryan Sr and with the pro-bono development and construction project being overseen by son Pat Ryan Jr., the CEO of Ryan Sports, the Ryan Family has funded most of its namesake field. Northwestern University’s financial contribution have made it a completely private-funded stadium.
Brian Bender
It’s the first new college stadium in more than a decade
The last time an FBS program opened a new stadium it was Tulane, who built one of the best college venues in New Orleans in 2014. That same year, Baylor and the University of Houston got new homes in Texas. It’s been 17 years since the last new Big Ten stadium, Minnesota’s Huntington Bank in 2009.
It’s also welcoming to away team fans
Wildcats fans will do their best to take up much of the capacity, but Northwestern’s stadium now becomes a bigger road trip destination for fans elsewhere throughout the expanded Big Ten. It’s a reality that having only 35,000 seats will make it even more of an exclusive road game experience.
It’s a must-do game-day experience for any football fan
Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and United Center have become iconic Chicago venues that are all worth visiting for any fans of baseball, football, basketball and hockey because of the rich tradition tied to each venue. New Ryan Field will be a similar destination for its sport in Evanston, joining long-time bigger college cathedrals such as “The Big House”, “The Horseshoe”, Beaver Stadium, Neyland Stadium and the Rose Bowl.
It’s giving everyone who serves the community a chance to attend
For every home game at Ryan Field, up to 500 seats will be available for only $25 (fees included) for those working in various public service jobs and up to three more members of their family.
“Ryan Field was built to be the most financially accessible stadium in college football, and this is another example of keeping that promise,” per Pat Ryan Jr. “Teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, city employees and the Northwestern graduates who chose lives of service show up for all of us, every day. We are deeply grateful, and we want them here cheering on Northwestern football, with their families, at an affordable price.”
Others eligible for the deeply discounted tickets are all school and healthcare workers, EMS personnel, active military personnel and veterans, librarians, social workers and even clergy. It’s a great way to give back and allow more to experience major college football in person that otherwise wouldn’t get the opportunity.
© Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images
It’s the ultimate recruiting tool for the football program
Even the hype of the new Ryan Field before its grand opening allowed coach David Braun to be more aggressive than the program has ever been with the transfer portal, where he added new starting quarterback Aidan Chiles. The NFL and major stadium feel also was instrumental in landing Chip Kelly to be the offensive coordinator.
The program’s on-field product is back to being exciting at the same time
The combination of the experienced Chiles playing in the ideal offense for him under Kelly is bringing an element that hasn’t been seen since the consistently high-scoring Randy Walker era with weapons such as wide receiver Griffin Wilde, tight end Luke Dehnicke and running back Caleb Komolafe. At the same time, Braun’s defensive influence continues to shine through on every level.
Northwestern giving reigning national and Big Ten champion Indiana a great game a week before on the road is inspiring that bigger and better things are coming in the conference, starting with Penn State.
