Northwestern will host football games at temporary on-campus stadium during Ryan

Northwestern will build a temporary, on-campus stadium in Evanston, Ill., where it will play the majority of its 2024 and 2025 football games while Ryan Field is reconstructed, the school announced Tuesday.

The university will continue discussions with other Chicago-area stadiums to host some 2024 games. Those game locations will come later this spring. In a statement, the school said, “Capacity for the temporary facility will be considerably less than either the old Ryan Field or the new Ryan Field that is under construction.”

Capacity at the former Ryan Field was 47,130 while the new stadium will seat around 35,000. Designs for the temporary structure are ongoing.

“I am thrilled that we could make this happen. It’s truly a win for our community,” Northwestern President Michael Schill said. “In addition to creating a wonderful fan experience in the lead-up to the opening of Ryan Field, hosting games on campus will reduce the travel burdens for our student-athletes and fans and will make games much more accessible. We also are pleased to keep the economic benefits of football gamedays in Evanston.”

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— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) April 10, 2024

What does this mean?

This is going to be challenging for the Big Ten and Northwestern. The Wildcats play four Big Ten opponents at home and all are within driving distance of Chicagoland. Ohio State (Nov. 16) and Wisconsin (Oct. 19) are the two heavyweights and fans of those teams regularly take over Ryan Field. Likewise, nearby rivals Illinois (Nov. 30) and Indiana (Oct. 5) are scheduled to play at Northwestern.

Playing at a temporary venue with a capacity “considerably less” than the Big Ten’s smallest stadium will create some logistical issues for television and the Big Ten’s other schools. While it may provide a decent backdrop for nonconference games against Eastern Illinois and Duke, it won’t have near the capacity to meet demand in games against Ohio State, Wisconsin and perhaps Illinois and Indiana. There’s a chance Soldier Field, Wrigley Field or Guaranteed Rate Field will become available in mid-October and throughout November.

In addition, Big Ten schools pool gate revenues from each game and evenly disperse them with a cap of $1 million and a floor of $300,000. Northwestern is likely to pay only the $300,000 floor every time it plays on campus.

(Photo of Ryan Field: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)