Northwestern shows off snow-proof most expensive college football stadium ever

Northwestern football has always been seen as a plucky upstart, but never in the same league as Michigan and Ohio State. Will their new stadium change that?

Northwestern University

$862 million sounds like a reasonable amount of money for a football stadium these days compared to the NFL price-tags like SoFi Stadium's $5.5 billion costs

But for Northwestern Wildcats football, it's a bold vision as the most expensive college football stadium ever built, especially when it only seats 35,000 people compared to Big Ten juggernauts like the Michigan Wolverines' Big House, which has the highest capacity at 107,600, followed closely by Penn State's Beaver Stadium at No. 2 with 106,572.

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Northwestern University

In an intimate tour, Front Office Sports learned that there are three goals of the stadium. One, better views than on TV. With 70,000 less seats, fans will be 100 feet closer, no matter where. Second, premium experiences for every ticket holder.

The most important part of that second goal is full protection from the rain and snow. Well, almost full protection, because is this fancy new stadium accounting for the Windy City wild card? We'll assume yes, but nothing is foolproof when it's not a dome.

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Nov 30, 2024: Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver A.J. Henning celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The last one is sort of boring, with full-day experiences, including pregame festivals. So more than just tailgating, but isn't that the best part?

The new digs open in 2026, so Northwestern fans will have to suffer through one more season of below-standard stadium gigs before they have home bragging rights.

In Northwestern's press release, they wrote, "The new Ryan Field is also expected to have a $1.3 billion impact on the Chicago area with $659 million of impact in Evanston alone. It will also solidify Northwestern's place as a leader in collegiate athletics and the home of the best facilities in college athletics."

But will it translate to on-the-field success, still trying to figure out their future after Pat Fitzgerald's tenure turning the program around, and third-year head coach David Braun coming off of a 4-8 campaign.

Hey, at least fans won't get snowed on anymore.

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