The former Ryan Field, which was demolished to make way for the new stadium. Photo: Greenstrat at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Northwestern University’s new Ryan Field is among the largest privately financed construction projects Evanston has seen. The numbers attached to it have shifted with the source and the year, so here is what the reporting shows.
The price and who paid
Coverage in 2023 and 2024 put the cost at about $800 million, and the Daily Northwestern reported in November 2023 that the Ryan family had donated $480 million. The preliminary cost was $850 million and the final budget rose modestly to $862 million after a club area was added. The project was described as 100 percent privately funded at the June 2024 groundbreaking, with most of the money coming from Patrick Ryan, the Aon founder, and his family, according to the Daily Northwestern and Real Estate Business.
The Ryan family’s gift was first announced on Sept. 22, 2021, and the family later committed additional funding above that amount. The university has not released the figure for the increase, the Daily Northwestern noted in 2023.
The 2023 votes
The City Council approved the rebuild 6-2 at a special meeting on Nov. 21, 2023, the Daily Northwestern reported. The rezoning ordinance, which allows public-facing concerts, and a related memorandum of understanding each split 4-4, and Mayor Daniel Biss broke both ties in favor. The council had tabled the ordinances on Nov. 13.
A community benefits agreement was part of the package. Northwestern agreed to pay the city at least $150 million over 15 years, five years longer than in its first proposal, the Daily Northwestern reported. A clause lets the university amend or end the benefits if the city places what the agreement calls unreasonable restraints on concerts. A motion to strike it failed 2-6.
Size and schedule
The new stadium seats about 35,000, roughly 12,000 fewer than the old Ryan Field, making it the smallest football stadium in the Big Ten. HNTB, Perkins&Will and Rockwell Group are listed as architects. Demolition of the old stadium began Jan. 29, 2024, and the university held a groundbreaking ceremony on the site on June 25, 2024, with Biss, university President Michael Schill and others speaking.
Turner-Walsh led construction, Real Estate Business reported. The university set a goal of directing 35 percent of subcontracted spending, about $208 million, to local, minority-owned and women-owned businesses. It projected more than 2,900 jobs and nearly $660 million in economic impact for Evanston and nearby areas. Those were the university’s projections in 2024, not measured results. The project plan also includes a community park and public green spaces, Real Estate Business reported, and the ceremony recognized two community groups, Field of Opportunities and Evanston Own It.
The football team played at Martin Stadium on the lakefront in the meantime. Opening was planned for Sept. 12, 2026, but construction delays pushed it to Oct. 2, 2026, when Northwestern beat Penn State 34-13.
What stayed contested
Neighbors raised concerns about noise, parking, traffic and public safety, and some residents questioned the stadium’s property tax exemption. Concerts were the flashpoint. The council’s vote on the rezoning was decided only by the mayor’s tiebreaker, which gives a sense of how closely the city was divided.
Thomas Brennan covers property taxes, real estate, transit and the local economy for The Evanston Edge.
