Updated Photos Released as New Ryan Field Continues to Take Shape
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The new Ryan Field is slowly but surely starting to take shape in Evanston. Northwestern expects to be able to move into its new home before the 2026 season after two years playing in its temporary lake-front stadium.
Today, Northwestern Athletics' Chief Revenue Officer Jesse Marks shared some updates and photos of the construction on X.
Good Morning from New Ryan Field!
— Jesse Marks (@Jessehmarks) May 30, 2025
👀 Amazing sight-lines from the 50 yard line main concourse
🚚 First peek at underground loading dock, large enough for team buses and trucks
🏟️ Student section growing into place in south end-zone
🎟️ Ticket info coming next month pic.twitter.com/VUZC2xbGkZ
Marks highlights a few key new additions visible in the photos. Firstly, he shares the view from the 50-yard line main concourse. It's a little difficult to visualize at the moment given the lack of an actual field, but the university has promoted this stadium as a place with good sightlines throughout.
Most excitingly, Marks shared that the student section is being constructed in the south end-zone. At the old Ryan Field, the student section was on the sideline and often lacking in students. The school is hoping that the new stadium and the new section will draw a bigger crowd of undergrads to games on Saturdays, although the product on the field will likely be the main determinant.
Lastly, Marks's post included a visual of the new underground loading dock where team buses and equipment trucks will have access. This makes sense as an underground feature to preserve the beauty of the above-ground stadium.
The new Ryan Field is expected to be utilized to host concerts and other shows in addition to football games. Upon its completion, there will be two stadiums in Evanston after Northwestern built up the lake-front stadium last year. The NWSL's Chicago Stars FC look like a potential new tenant for that stadium once the 'Cats move out.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.