Northwestern fans will have to wait for Big 10 Conference games to watch their Wildcats play in their new home.
Evanston’s new Ryan Field is now scheduled to open in October, but not in time for the start of the 2026 fall football season.
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The stadium is an $862 million gift from the privately funded university, tens of millions of which will be donated to the city of Evanston. The Ryans say this is the timeline they always imagined.
Cold, rainy weather in the fall and winter delayed construction progress by about five weeks. Still, the 35,000-seat stadium that has become a behemoth on Evanston’s central street is actually smaller and shorter than the century-old facility it is replacing.
The Ryan family donated the land to the alma mater of insurance pioneer Pat Ryan.
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Pat Ryan Jr. of RyanSports Development said people would like the project after extensive community consultation. But like all things that represent change, it may take a while.
“Sometimes when a new project comes around and it’s different, some people might start catastrophizing things and imagining worse things. I think the fact that we announce where we’re going to have festivals over Christmas and we’re going to do that, Halloween and fall festivals, I think people are really going to do those things. You know, I think people are really excited about the fact that we’re going to be a good neighbor. We’re going to keep our word,” Ryan said.
The first game under the new lights will be Friday, Oct. 2 against Penn State.
