Northwestern reveals plans for 'state-of-the-art' Ryan Field replacement with 12K fewer seats

[NorthernHawkeye]

The second picture in the Instagram link make it look way bigger than 35,000 seats.

Northwestern reveals plans for 'state-of-the-art' Ryan Field replacement with 12K fewer seats

The Big Ten's smallest stadium is about to get much smaller.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[millah_22]

Good for them. They weren't selling out 47k anyway, so might as well make a comfortable 35k stadium that gives both a good fan and player experience. It'd be cool if they put in actual modern NFL seating instead of bleachers like every other college stadium.

 

[BioHawk]

Does the Big 10 have minimum sizes for stadiums?

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Honestly looks like an improvement. Maybe their "stadium" wouldn't look so much like a glorified high school field.

 

[TJ8869]

Are they going to install some sort of climate control for the fans?

I lived in suburban Chicago during Northwestern’s improbable run to the Big Ten title in 1995. They had been a doormat for so long that very few Northwestern fans attended the games and it became almost a home game for the visiting team. But after Northwestern beat Notre Dame that year and then Michigan and then Wisconsin, people started realizing they were for real and suddenly everyone wanted to attend the games.

But later in the season it obviously started getting colder. Fans started complaining to the local newspapers and radio stations about how cold it was at the games, as if they expected someone to do something about it. It was funny as hell listening to them.

 

[Hawki97]

They need to drop it another 20k seats.

 

[StormHawk42]

They need to drop it another 20k seats.

Na. More room for visitors.

 

[Rifler]

Good for them. They weren't selling out 47k anyway, so might as well make a comfortable 35k stadium that gives both a good fan and player experience. It'd be cool if they put in actual modern NFL seating instead of bleachers like every other college stadium.

Perhaps this one will come with adequate toilet facilities...

 

[Hawki97]

Na. More room for visitors.

Room for 14,500 visitors wouldn’t be enough?

 

[hawkeye54545]

Good. Now Hawk fans can sit in comfort when in Kinnick east.

 

[dgordo]

They need to drop it another 20k seats.

they need those seats for concerts and other events because just nw football games won’t be profitable.

 

[Hawki97]

they need those seats for concerts and other events because just nw football games won’t be profitable.

I know, I know. Just let me shit on Northwestern for a couple posts you damn fun haters!

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

Are they going to install some sort of climate control for the fans?

I lived in suburban Chicago during Northwestern’s improbable run to the Big Ten title in 1995. They had been a doormat for so long that very few Northwestern fans attended the games and it became almost a home game for the visiting team. But after Northwestern beat Notre Dame that year and then Michigan and then Wisconsin, people started realizing they were for real and suddenly everyone wanted to attend the games.

But later in the season it obviously started getting colder. Fans started complaining to the local newspapers and radio stations about how cold it was at the games, as if they expected someone to do something about it. It was funny as hell listening to them.

That Iowa game that year was blisteringly cold.

 

[TJ8869]

That Iowa game that year was blisteringly cold.

Yes it was. My main memory from that game was the PA announcer repeatedly begging the crowd for donations so NU’s marching band could buy new uniforms for their bowl game. He must have made at least half a dozen announcements about it during the game.

And then at the end of the game there were marching band members at every exit passing out fliers asking for donations. And about 10 feet outside the exit were hundreds of discarded fliers, most of them tossed on the ground by angry Iowa fans.

 

[millah_22]

They need to drop it another 20k seats.

Where are all the Nebraska fans sit?

 

[Hawki97]

Where are all the Nebraska fans sit?

They can hover over the stadium with their red balloons if they don't get a seat. They won't be releasing them into the air anyway.

 

[SoDakHawk]

35K is really, really low capacity for a Big Ten school. This is a poor look.

 

[QChawks]

I went there in 2010

vowed to never go back

complete shithole

 

[SoDakHawk]

From the article, what a stupid paragraph. Why would public funds go into the construction of a stadium for a private school? Then to add that tax deductible donations will still result in lower tax liability. Seems like the author is just trying to throw some shade here.

The construction of the stadium is reportedly projected to cost $800 million, funded entirely from private donations with no taxpayer funds (though such projects can still cost the public due to lost revenue from donation tax write-offs).

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

From the article, what a stupid paragraph. Why would public funds go into the construction of a stadium for a private school? Then to add that tax deductible donations will still result in lower tax liability. Seems like the author is just trying to throw some shade here.

The construction of the stadium is reportedly projected to cost $800 million, funded entirely from private donations with no taxpayer funds (though such projects can still cost the public due to lost revenue from donation tax write-offs).

I thought the same thing. Then I remembered professional stadiums.

 

[Kenneth Griffin]

From the article, what a stupid paragraph. Why would public funds go into the construction of a stadium for a private school? Then to add that tax deductible donations will still result in lower tax liability. Seems like the author is just trying to throw some shade here.

The construction of the stadium is reportedly projected to cost $800 million, funded entirely from private donations with no taxpayer funds (though such projects can still cost the public due to lost revenue from donation tax write-offs).

northwestern gets a ton of tax breaks and funding from Evanston.

 

[TJ8869]

I thought the same thing. Then I remembered professional stadiums.

northwestern gets a ton of tax breaks and funding from Evanston.

Exactly. Public money is used to subsidize construction and renovation of stadiums for private sports teams all the time. And considering all the speculation about the Bears moving to Arlington Heights, it seems perfectly normal to mention where the funds for this renovation are coming from.

 

[Gladeskat]

Honestly looks like an improvement. Maybe their "stadium" wouldn't look so much like a glorified high school field.

I'm always amused by this. When I played a game at Kinnick, that was exactly my impression of Kinnick stadium, i.e., a giant HS stadium, with bench seating in straight rows starting close to the field about 5-6 feet off the ground...just like my high school. A snake pit with the fans right on top of you.

NU's east side looks somewhat like a large HS stadium except with curved rows for better viewing. The west side with the upper deck and curved row seating is no HS stadium. What sucked though was there used to be a track around the field such that the stands started so far away from the field.

 

[TheCainer]

Exactly. Public money is used to subsidize construction and renovation of stadiums for private sports teams all the time. And considering all the speculatiom about the Bears moving to Arlington Heights, it seems perfectly normal to mention where the funds for this renovation are coming from.

Indianapolis still has a 1% tax on the books for restaurants and bars for the Colts original home, the RCA Dome, which was torn down 14 years ago.

 

[LuteHawk]

Kinnick Stadium.....70,585 seating capacity
Memorial Stadium..60,670 for University of Illinois
Current Stadium.....47,000 for Northwestern

The University of Illinois had 45,000 fans in attendance
when they hosted Iowa Hawkeyes and beat them 9-6.
This was their biggest home game crowd since 2016.

Bottom Line: New Football Coach Bret B. is putting
more fans in the seats in 2022 with their winning ways.
Today's AP Football Poll had Illinois at #24.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

I'm always amused by this. When I played a game at Kinnick, that was exactly my impression of Kinnick stadium, i.e., a giant HS stadium, with bench seating in straight rows starting close to the field about 5-6 feet off the ground...just like my high school. A snake pit with the fans right on top of you.

NU's east side looks somewhat like a large HS stadium except with curved rows for better viewing. The west side with the upper deck and curved row seating is no HS stadium. What sucked though was there used to be a track around the field such that the stands started so far away from the field.

Kinnnick surrounds the whole field with stands though. My high school field just had stands on the side much like Northwestern's.

 

[joelbc1]

they need those seats for concerts and other events because just nw football games won’t be profitable.

You know NW just sits back and laughs at moronic statements like this. You understand the $$ for this stadium came from a 2 years (record breaking) fund raiser where they raised $6B (billion) for Northwestern.Northwestern ain’t Building their football stadium to accommodate folks from Ohio, Wisconsin or Iowa.

 

[dgordo]

You know NW just sits back and laughs at moronic statements like this. You understand the $$ for this stadium came from a 2 years (record breaking) fund raiser where they raised $6B (billion) for Northwestern.Northwestern ain’t Building their football stadium to accommodate folks from Ohio, Wisconsin or Iowa.

interesting but you didn’t address my point at all.

 

[joelbc1]

northwestern gets a ton of tax breaks and funding from Evanston.

Why shouldn’t they? Central College gets a ton of advantages from the city of Pella and state of Iowa too. You don’t think UIowa, Iowa State and UNI dont get “favorable” advantages from their home towns?
Northwestern is the driving force of Evanston…..and governments will treat them much like they treat any local business.
This stadium is a result of a $6BILLION fund raiser Northwestern held. The fundraiser was the largest college fundraiser (dollarwise) in the history the world.
Folks here need to understand how wealthy Northwesrtern (and its alumni) really are.
Guaranteed, when the project is done, it’ll be very nice.Bigger ain’t necessarily better. Accommodating your fans and sustainers is probably more important in the long run.

 

[millah_22]

Kinnick Stadium.....70,585 seating capacity
Memorial Stadium..60,670 for University of Illinois
Current Stadium.....47,000 for Northwestern

The University of Illinois had 45,000 fans in attendance
when they hosted Iowa Hawkeyes and beat them 9-6.
This was their biggest home game crowd since 2016.

Bottom Line: New Football Coach Bret B. is putting
more fans in the seats in 2022 with their winning ways.
Today's AP Football Poll had Illinois at #24.

Kinnick is under 70,000 now.

Even Northwestern's new stadium would not be the smallest in the PAC12