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Northwestern, city celebrate Ryan Field groundbreaking

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Wearing purple hard hats and holding branded shovels, Northwestern University officials broke ceremonial ground on the new Ryan Field football stadium Monday morning at a formal ceremony in front of the neighboring Welsh-Ryan Arena. 

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A group of Northwestern officials, Ryan family members and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss pose for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Ryan Field football stadium at a celebration event Monday. Shown from left: Dave Davis, Michael Schill, David Braun, Jack Ryan, Kate Ryan, Isabelle Ryan, Lydia Ryan, Pat Ryan Jr., Pat Ryan Sr., Shirley Welsh Ryan, Corbett Ryan, Rob Ryan, Jennifer Ryan, Derrick Gragg, Daniel Biss and Peter Barris. Credit: Alex Harrison

With the real project site behind them, university leaders celebrated the project’s recent shift from demolition to construction as joint venture Turner-Walsh Construction continues mass soil excavation to lower the new field below grade. They addressed a crowd of athletics officials, project partners, elected officials and other community supporters, many of whom joined in on the action in their own photo ops.

The event’s guests of honor were alumni Pat and Shirley Ryan, who donated a significant amount of money toward the stadium’s private funding. Speaking to them and a strong showing of family members, University President Michael Schill thanked the family for supporting NU “in ways that will resonate” far into the future. Beyond the financial support for the project and other initiatives, Schill also thanked Pat Ryan, Jr. for his work as a current university trustee in advancing the stadium rebuild.

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Standing in front of the construction site, Northwestern President Michael Schill speaks to the crowd of attendees at a Ryan Field groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning. Credit: Alex Harrison

“I’ve been a president now, if you combine the two schools [Northwestern and the University of Oregon], for nine years,” Schill said. “I have never encountered a trustee who has more determination, more drive to accomplish a project, than Pat Jr.”

Schill and others also thanked the city for its support, including the critical November 2023 vote to approve the stadium rebuild, public-facing concerts and an associated town-gown agreement providing regulations and public benefits for the city. Mayor Daniel Biss, who cast the tie-breaking votes to approve the latter two items, was in attendance along with Council Members Krissie Harris (2nd Ward), Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward) and Juan Geracaris (9th Ward).

During his remarks, Biss said although it’s easy for elected officials to reject large projects like the stadium, he decided it was “worth taking that risk” for the sake of building a stronger partnership between the city and university.

“Our assets are so different, our strengths are so unlike one another, that there are things that we can do together that we just couldn’t hope to do alone,” Biss said. “We are just starting to leverage and unlock, for this community and for this university, the full opportunity of this partnership, and I cannot wait to see what we can accomplish together.”

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A group of local elected officials break ceremonial ground for the new Ryan Field football stadium at a celebration event Monday. Shown from left to right: state Rep. Robyn Gabel, council members Juan Geracaris (9th Ward) and Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward), Mayor Daniel Biss, Council Member Krissie Harris (2nd Ward) and former Mayor Steve Hagerty. Credit: Alex Harrison

Northwestern community liaison Dave Davis echoed the spirit of partnership, saying the stadium’s goal has always been “improving the quality of life for everyone” in the city. He said during the months he spoke to community members about the project, he “didn’t hear a lot about football” compared to issues like education, job creation and economic development.

“This stadium meant so much to each and every individual, and I hope you know that those promises that we made are promises that we intend to keep,” Davis said. “So I want you to stick with us throughout this entire journey because the best, folks, is yet to come.”

Project updates

Speaking to the media after the main remarks, Greg Cuttell, Turner’s general superintendent, said the project is “going down to go vertical” as preparations are made for deep foundation laying. While jackhammer noise and vibrations from earth retention system sheeting installation have subsided, the steady flow of trucks in and out of the site is expected to continue through the remainder of the summer while the mass excavation is carried out.

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A truck carrying debris out of the Ryan Field construction site is sprayed with water to dampen dust at a truck washing station installed at the site’s southwest corner. Credit: Alex Harrison

The project team has escalated efforts to control the dust trailed by these trucks in recent months, most recently installing a truck washing station to spray down every vehicle before it leaves the site. Asked how they’re handling inquiries and complaints from residents, Pamyla Brown, Turner’s director of community and citizenship, said “feedback is a gift” to the team and encouraged residents to call 311 to report any complaints to the project team.

“We are the ones actually personally responding to the 311 inquiries, and so we actually use it as a great way to, number one, make certain that folks’ voices are heard, [and] number two, to assure the folks in Evanston that we intend to be good neighbors, and really working together to make certain that everyone is safe, because safety is our number one priority.”

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Northwestern community liaison Dave Davis speaks at the Ryan Field groundbreaking ceremony held Monday morning. Credit: Alex Harrison

On the hiring end, Davis said NU and Turner-Walsh meet frequently with the city’s M/W/D/EBE Development Committee and its chair, Council Member Bobby Burns (5th Ward), to “problem-solve in real time” on connecting residents with project jobs. He said the team is on track to exceed the commitment to reach 35% project participation by minority- and women-owned businesses as outlined in the project’s community benefits agreement.

The Community Benefits Agreement also calls for the formation of a Community Advisory Council, made up of three appointees each from NU and the city, to meet twice annually and (among other duties) receive updates on whether the university is reaching that 35% commitment. Davis said this council has not yet been formed, as the university is still in conversation with Council Member Eleanor Revelle (7th Ward) about how it will be structured.

“We want to make sure that we get the structure right,” Davis said, “And we want to make sure that we involve the residents, the neighbors, that we have a good cross-section of the City of Evanston and the Seventh Ward, as well as some other city members.”

Lakefront football site

As Turner-Walsh works on the permanent stadium, event structure provider InProduction is actively constructing the university’s temporary stadium at the Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium along the lakefront (photos below). The university’s football team will play home games there for the next two seasons before moving into the new Ryan Field for the 2026-27 season.

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Credit: Joerg Metzner

Northwestern, city celebrate Ryan Field groundbreaking is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.


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