Northwestern's new $875 million Ryan Field opens as Wildcats host Penn State

After nearly three years of demolition, construction, and controversy, Northwestern University's new Ryan Field is finally ready for kickoff.

The Wildcats will welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions for the first game inside the new stadium on Friday night, but getting to this point was anything but easy.

Tailgaters were out in force on Friday afternoon. For some, it's been a 40-year tradition. For others, opening day at the new stadium is also their first game.

But getting here meant closing a chapter on a century of Northwestern tradition, and Friday was an excuse for some to go back in time.

"It feels like we never left," said Jeffrey Beir, as he and a group of friends from the class of 1979 returned to where it really began to usher in a new era at Northwestern.

They got together more than 47 years after graduating from Northwestern, meeting up at their old college dormitory to usher in the new Ryan Field.

"We said, 'Let's do it for the first game at the new stadium,' and we were able to get everybody together," said Jim Berger.

Northwestern fist announced plans for the new Ryan Field in September 2021, but the proposal quickly became controversial.

Neighbors raised concerns about traffic, noise, and plans for live concerts.

In November 2023, the Evanston City Council approved the plan to build the new Ryan Field, with a limit of six concerts per year, after Northwestern agreed to a 15-year, $150 million community benefits agreement.

Those funds will be used to help boost affordable housing in Evanston, provide financial aid to Evanston Township High School students planning to attend Northwestern, support local nonprofits, assist with Evanston's guaranteed income program, finance workforce development programs, and create a 15-year "Good Neighbor Fund" to support other local programs.

In 2024, the old Ryan Field came down. After demolition and more than two years of construction on the new 35,000-seat stadium, the new $875 million Ryan Field was completed earlier this year.

It has about 12,000 fewer seats than the old Ryan Field, but that doesn't seem to bother fans like Berger.

"The visiting teams would outnumber Northwestern, so the smaller stadium, I'm fine with that, especially if it fills up with purple and white," Berger said.

There was plenty of purple and white in the tailgate lots on Friday. First on the scene were the football families – players, parents, and alumni, and students who have been watching the stadium be built from the ground up.

"It's about the families who … we have just built this amazing football family that will last forever," said Northwestern football mom Kristen Carsello.

Northwestern sophomore Dylan Kim said he was impressed with how fast Ryan Field was built.

"They just blipped, all of a sudden, the stadium was built," he said.

For now, though, the focus is simple: a new stadium, a sold-out opener, and a new chapter for Northwestern football.

"It's not the building, it's the experiences in that building, whether you're marching on the field or being in the stands and watching the games," Beir said.

Getting inside isn't necessarily cheap. While Northwestern students can get in for free, resale tickets for Friday night's opener have been selling for around $100 and up. Season ticket holders said their per-game ticket prices nearly doubled for the new Ryan Field.