Reimagining Stadiums
Seizing the once in a century opportunity to reimagine the college football stadium
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Development
The biggest stadium project in college sports history.
At $850 million, the new Ryan Field is the largest college stadium project ever. Ryan Sports and Northwestern are taking the once-in-a-century opportunity to reimagine what a modern college football stadium can be in the 21st century.
our vision
Reimagining Game Day
Reimagining game day
Better than TV sightlines
Instead of the poor sightlines inherent in a traditional stadium bowl, the new Ryan Field leverages modern engineering to put every seat on top of the field to optimize every fan’s view of the action providing television-like sightlines from nearly every seat in the bowl.
Reimagining game day
A Premium Experience for Every Fan
Instead of the traditional college stadium experience with skyboxes for the few and benches for the many, every fan at the new Ryan Field will get a premium experience with a comfortable seat, protected from the weather by a canopy.
Powerful Homefield Advantage
A canopy over the entire seating bowl will create a powerful homefield sound advantage
Reimagining game day
Pregame Activities for Every Type of Fan
With 200,000 square feet of parks and plazas surrounding the stadium but within the ticketed perimeter, the new Ryan Field will host pregame activities for every type of fan. In addition to traditional Big Ten tailgating, there will be an “NFL Experience” inspired family festival in a new park, a plaza featuring pop-ups of some of the best restaurants of Chicago and Evanston. In addition, the new Ryan Field will have a student plaza and hall hosting student festivities with food and live music, as well as a community tailgating zone.
Reimagining game day
Premium Clubs for Every Type of Fan
The new Ryan Field will feature four premium clubs for every type of fan, from the most hard core Wildcat Fan to the corporate entertainment at Chicago’s Big Ten Stadium. These spaces won’t just be activated for game and concert days but will instead also create some of the best hospitality spaces in Chicago and the North Shore. Hosting corporate meetings and private events year round these remarkable spaces will add world class hospitality spaces for businesses and residents to utilize while also bringing significant non-game day economic activity to the local community.
Accessibility
Reimagining Accessibility
The Most Accessible Stadium Ever Built
By making universal accessibility a foundational principle, every fan at Ryan Field, regardless of physical ability, will be able to experience the stadium in the same way. Fans with mobility challenges will no longer face separate navigation routes involving detours and ramps; instead, the stadium will provide an inclusive experience for all. Additionally, the new Ryan Field will feature 194% of the seating required by ADA standards.
Entertainment
Reimagining Concerts
Reimagining Concerts
Arena Show Intimacy with Stadium Scale
Concerts at the new Ryan Field will draw on its unprecedented sightlines to bring the best of both worlds: the intimacy inherent in an arena or club show combined with the scale productions and larger crowds (and bigger acts) typically found in a stadium concert.
Community asset
Reimagining Year-Round as a Community Asset
Reimagining a Stadium as a Community Asset
While Big Ten Football games and concerts will be the highest profile events at the new Ryan Field, the other 350 days of the year will see the stadium serving as a community asset and a new town square for the Northwestern and Evanston communities. With year round holiday festivals, youth sports, state championships, as well as intramurals and other campus activities, the new Ryan Field will serve as a dynamic asset year-round by utilizing key areas of the stadium campus to add a new dimension to the Evanston and Northwestern communities.
Community Reinvestment
Reimagining the community impact of a stadium
In addition to requiring $0 in public funding (the project is 100% privately funded), the new Ryan Field will provide $208 million in contracts for minority and women owned businesses. The Ryan Foundation is also providing $10 million to fund workforce development programs to help Evanston residents move from minimum wage jobs into higher paid, skilled careers.
Women & minority-owned contracts
Workforce development program
Reimagining the sports experience