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Northwestern building new stadium

Why would they not build a stadium with a retractable roof and enough seating to be able to host the B1G championship?

I didn’t go to NW or as smart as those geeks but I’d at least have an outdoor/indoor set up as the primary option then look at enough seating capacity to be able to host the game or a bowl game should Chicago decide to host the Chicago Style Pizza Bowl Game or a play off game.
 
I've never heard of anyone building a new stadium that seats 12k fewer people. Someone explain to me how this is a good deal.

I'm not saying it's not. I just don't understand it.

I googled Northwestern average football attendance had 10 different articles. 2018 or 19 they got up to 43k. But outside of that every other year seem to be between 20-35k. I bet if they make nicer amenities and combine with lower supply they can drive up prices and make more revenue. Another fact is overall college football attendance is down again I believe for the 8th straight year. They may be ahead of the curve on this one. Besides Ryan Field sucks. Terrible luck there. 2010 in the rain was just one of few examples
 
It reminds me more of a soccer stadium than football. I’m kind of old fashioned and I much prefer something like what Minnesota built. But that being said obviously this stadium is beautiful and a massive upgrade from what they have now. I think it’s good for the BigTen that they build this, it was kind of embarrassing what they had before.
 
Why would they not build a stadium with a retractable roof and enough seating to be able to host the B1G championship?

I didn’t go to NW or as smart as those geeks but I’d at least have an outdoor/indoor set up as the primary option then look at enough seating capacity to be able to host the game or a bowl game should Chicago decide to host the Chicago Style Pizza Bowl Game or a play off game.
They would NEVER build a stadium big enough to hold the BIG championship game. NW isn't going to sell out a bigger stadium and certainly not one that would hold what would be required for a OSU vs Wisconsin or Iowa title game. By dropping to 35k they can play to a much fuller stadium made up of mostly NW fans. When iowa plays there now its probably half Iowa fans....
 
Why would they not build a stadium with a retractable roof and enough seating to be able to host the B1G championship?

I didn’t go to NW or as smart as those geeks but I’d at least have an outdoor/indoor set up as the primary option then look at enough seating capacity to be able to host the game or a bowl game should Chicago decide to host the Chicago Style Pizza Bowl Game or a play off game.
LOL. They have no choice but to build on the existing site in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Evanston, where the residents gripe about the existing stadium. And the historical attendance figures support a 35k capacity. What you propose is wildly unrealistic. Even if the city would allow it, the infrastructure simply would not support that kind of facility and related parking/traffic.
 
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Stanford did. Mimicking just decrease capacity, Nebraska is looking too. It’s more than a trend

I thought Nebraska was looking to renovate Memorial Stadium, not build a smaller new stadium.

Nebraska has had 385 consecutive “sell outs”. I can’t see them decreasing capacity by a lot and not for good cause like more suites / amenities.

Then again, with all of the coaches that they’re paying right now, I’m not sure I’d consider them making the most solid business decisions either. Who knows.
 
Drawing looks way bigger than 35k, lol.
Tbf, some stadiums can look massive but seat way fewer people than you'd expect depending on the layout of the building.

The Fargodome is a prime example. It only seats 19,000, but looks fairly big from the outside.

2009-0518-Fargodome.jpg
 
I thought Nebraska was looking to renovate Memorial Stadium, not build a smaller new stadium.

Nebraska has had 385 consecutive “sell outs”. I can’t see them decreasing capacity by a lot and not for good cause like more suites / amenities.

Then again, with all of the coaches that they’re paying right now, I’m not sure I’d consider them making the most solid business decisions either. Who knows.
Yes, remodel, enhance experience, decrease capacity
 
That field will be a disaster with 3 teams playing there
that Soldier Field turf is a disaster before any team plays there

do you or anyone know the issue? why doesn't the sod take root and hold up?

also, IIRC, ownership wanted to put in artificial turf but the people (union) who cut the grass and take care of the current grass turf raised hell because they feared there would be job losses
 
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Probably part of the plan, since they sure don't sell that many tickets to their fans, this way the crowds not half black and yellow....

Similar thing happened with Minnesota. This is Minny's 14th year playing at their current stadium.

64,111: Seating capacity of the Metrodome, where Iowa fans loved the 70 degree temperature controlled environment & took over the place

50,805: Seating capacity of Huntington Bank Stadium (opened in Sep, 2009)
 
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