Wildcats Daily

Northwestern AD Shares New Ryan Field Construction Update

The new football stadium is finally coming together.
Gavin Dorsey|
The Ryan Family, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Mark Jackson and Northwestern President Michael Schill were on hand for the installation of the first structural steel beams being installed at the New Ryan Field construction site on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
The Ryan Family, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Mark Jackson and Northwestern President Michael Schill were on hand for the installation of the first structural steel beams being installed at the New Ryan Field construction site on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. | Northwestern Athletic Director Mark Jackson smiling as construction at the new Ryan Field begins.

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Northwestern Wildcats

For several months, the absence of Ryan Field left a gaping hole in not just the Northwestern community, but also a literal massive hole at 1501 Central Street.

In November, the construction of the Wildcats' new football stadium finally began with the installation of steel beams at the base of the complex. The hole now resembles the familiar oblong shape that football stadiums around the country model as the $850 million project slowly makes headway toward its completion.

Northwestern Athletic Director Mark Jackson was on-site when the structures were first laid down in November, and on Thursday, Jackson offered an inside look at how the stadium was coming together.

As shown in Jackson's video, the outside of the stadium is in place, while the construction team is currently building out the lower bowl. A glimpse of a seating area can be seen in the southwest quadrant of the stadium.

The stadium is currently just a shell, but the progress that the construction crews have made should be very exciting for Northwestern fans. Last week, Assistant Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director Jesse Marks showed what the view of the bowl looked like from above.

In its public reveal in November, Northwestern said it expected the new stadium to have an economic impact on the Chicago area of over $1.3 billion, with $659 million expected for the city of Evanston.

The new Ryan Field remains scheduled to open in the Fall of 2026, when the Wildcats host South Dakota State in the season opener.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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