LOOK: Northwestern releases renderings for new football stadium, an $800 million project

Northwestern has announced plans to tear down Ryan Field to build a more modern, smaller-capacity stadium for its football program.

According to a university press release, Northwestern’s project will be privately funded and the new stadium will be a venue capable of hosting concerts and other non-football events. Capacity will be reduced to about 35,000, some 12,000 fewer seats than the current stadium holds.

The cost for the new stadium and facilities project will be about $800 million, according to Danny Ecker of ChicagoBusiness.com.

“We are extremely excited to move forward with a transformational stadium project and grateful to our University leadership and to the Board of Trustees for their decision to take the next steps toward a new Ryan Field,” said Dr. Derrick Gragg, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation, in a press release.

“We are all grateful to the Ryan Family for their unwavering commitment to Northwestern University and our academic and athletics programs. I have no doubt that the privately funded stadium will be a gamechanger for our football program, athletics department and the community, and will be in line with our other excellent facilities including Welsh-Ryan Arena and Ryan Fieldhouse.”

The new Ryan Field stadium campus will be funded entirely with private dollars — requiring no taxpayer financing — and will create a world-class home for @NU_Sports & @NUFBFamily, student-athletes, fans and the community. pic.twitter.com/Y0TzKdZKTd

— Northwestern (@NorthwesternU) September 28, 2022

Northwestern has certainly not been shy about investing in program infrastructure of late. According to The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, following completion of the project Northwestern will have spent a combined $1.18 billion since the “mid-2010s on new hoops arena, football facility and stadium.”

A founding member of the Big Ten Conference, Northwestern has had some real success on the gridiron in recent years.

Now in his 17th season as head coach, Pat Fitzgerald guided the Wildcats to division titles in 2018 and 2020. Fitzgerald has won 10 games in a season three times while at Northwestern.

Northwestern’s new football stadium will include a lot of bells and whistles

Northwestern issued a press release Wednesday outlining many of the highlights of the new football stadium. Suffice it to say it will be quite nice.

Some of those highlights:

A more intimate setting: Significantly smaller crowds — designed for a maximum capacity of 35,000, more than 12,000 fewer than the current Ryan Field, with a state-of-the-art canopy designed to focus noise and light on the field;

New community assets: The new Ryan Field is being developed as a modern stadium campus with beautiful plazas, an exceptional new community park as well as other publicly accessible greenspaces for residents to enjoy year-round community activities;

Accessibility: The new stadium will apply Universal Design standards and will set a new standard for accessibility and inclusivity, making it among the most accessible stadiums in the country; and

Sustainability: The project is designed to achieve Gold LEED certification.

– Northwestern releases early design concepts for dynamic new Ryan Field