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Is Northwestern going to rename Ryan Field to Ryan Stadium when it gets renovated?

I assume that any reduction in capacity will be a short-term move and that there would be a plan in place for a 2nd phase extension if we had a string of sellouts over a few years and our season ticket base reached the point where a return up to 47-50k makes sense.

That really seems like the best approach for improving gameday atmosphere: reducing capacity to 42-43k until there's enough purple demand to justify an expansion.

You could accomplish that in any number of ways, for example planning the endzone in such a way that it could be expanded in a 2nd phase.

Keeping capacity higher doesn't serve the program well until we're consistently drawing crowds in the 40k range against non-conference opponents. We'll only be able to do that when we have a string of years where we're consistently ranked and challenge for the division title and NY6 bowls (multiple 10+ win seasons where there's no losses until the late weeks of the season).
And the Bears suck.
 
Question that I will be surprised if anyone on this board knows the answer to. Was the press box built so that it can be saved and the underlying stands demolished? I believe the answer is yes - the press box was built on a separate structure cantilevered over the stands - but not sure. Would save some money.

Second question. Which side is the better side for viewing in the event the approach is to build one side bigger than the other. In terms of phasing, one plan would be to demolish the East stands first, build a large stand with new press box on the East side and then in the following phase demolish the West stands and rebuild smaller with the capability to expand in the future. Just thinking of how to rebuild on the current site. I have sat on both sides and prefer the West side where you don't face the setting sun but with the game times now not so certain that is an issue.

Can you say Soldier Field for a year? Imagine the bitching on that one.
 
"Screw the history."? Great attitude for a major university. Every single time I go to my seat, I look to the spot where my grandfather sat. His first game was in the 30's. We are on the 5th generation of Cats fans. You're screwing with our history, buddy. Now the obvious response is screw you, but I'm too much the gentleman to say it. :)
 
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"Screw the history."? Great attitude for a major university. Every single time I go to my seat, I look to the spot where my grandfather sat. His first game was in the 30's. We are on the 5th generation of Cats fans. You're screwing with our history, buddy. Now the obvious response is screw you, but I'm too much the gentleman to say it. :)
All respect to the cat fans that have supported us for generations to the present day.

I think we can accomplish a rebuild that builds on that history and doesn't turn into a mess like Soldier Field.

Though I really don't know if a rebuild can be accomplished without rebuilding the underlying infrastructure. I know TCU had to rebuild everything underneath as part of their rebuild.
 
"Screw the history."? Great attitude for a major university. Every single time I go to my seat, I look to the spot where my grandfather sat. His first game was in the 30's. We are on the 5th generation of Cats fans. You're screwing with our history, buddy. Now the obvious response is screw you, but I'm too much the gentleman to say it. :)
Chill. I appreciate your perspective, but I have no desire to be transported to 1930 type of amenities in 2018. Do you still drive an Auburn BT Speedster? Things evolve and get better, if you want to wait 3 generations to improve facilities because your grandfather sat in this section great, but that doesn’t mean many of the rest have that same attachment. BTW my Grandfather was Fighting in a World War while your grandfather was sitting in that seat. So save the history speech, because the last thing I want is a space ship inside a war memorial. So yes, screw history and I am not any kind of a gentleman.
 
No. Maybe they could play in DeKalb, since it seats about twenty some thousand, thus would make some on this board happy. If that is to far, then how about Lane Tech?

What do you want, Willy? A brand new stadium, comfy seats, rabid crowds of 100,000 screaming NU fans, sushi from Nobu, the renovation occuring in one off-season, and an OLine with 5 All Americans.
With enough money.....
 
Chill. I appreciate your perspective, but I have no desire to be transported to 1930 type of amenities in 2018. Do you still drive an Auburn BT Speedster? Things evolve and get better, if you want to wait 3 generations to improve facilities because your grandfather sat in this section great, but that doesn’t mean many of the rest have that same attachment. BTW my Grandfather was Fighting in a World War while your grandfather was sitting in that seat. So save the history speech, because the last thing I want is a space ship inside a war memorial. So yes, screw history and I am not any kind of a gentleman.
WR Jeopardy!

I will take "Failed Football Stadium Rebuilds" for $500, Alex.

"A space ship inside a war memorial."

A) What is PPD's worst nightmare?
B) What does $690M buy you in Chicago?
C) What scene in Independence Day was deleted because it was deemed too traumatic for viewers by the Motion Picture Association?
D) What makes less sense than a Wrassler post?
 
What do you want, Willy? A brand new stadium, comfy seats, rabid crowds of 100,000 screaming NU fans, sushi from Nobu, the renovation occuring in one off-season, and an OLine with 5 All Americans.
With enough money.....

With enough money, could we even find, much less clone 100,000 screaming NU fans?

The rest would be easy by comparison.
 
WR Jeopardy!

I will take "Failed Football Stadium Rebuilds" for $500, Alex.

"A space ship inside a war memorial."

A) What is PPD's worst nightmare?
B) What does $690M buy you in Chicago?
C) What scene in Independence Day was deleted because it was deemed too traumatic for viewers by the Motion Picture Association?
D) What makes less sense than a Wrassler post?

Hungry....I know you’re out of work at the moment, and I truly hope that you land somewhere good soon, but please make it a place that gives you a ton of time to post. You’re on a roll.
 
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WR Jeopardy!

I will take "Failed Football Stadium Rebuilds" for $500, Alex.

"A space ship inside a war memorial."

A) What is PPD's worst nightmare?
B) What does $690M buy you in Chicago?
C) What scene in Independence Day was deleted because it was deemed too traumatic for viewers by the Motion Picture Association?
D) What makes less sense than a Wrassler post?
This made me laugh. I am like Willy on the pot holes, seating capacity, OL coach when it comes to Ryan field. Hey ECat has his tennis ball machine, Glades his 2 star ranked players, GCG his “no”, Glide is hatred for all things SEC not named Mississippi Stare, Felis his 2-1-4-3-2-7, etc. Bear with us all.
 
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What do you want, Willy? A brand new stadium, comfy seats, rabid crowds of 100,000 screaming NU fans, sushi from Nobu, the renovation occuring in one off-season, and an OLine with 5 All Americans.
With enough money.....
Yes, that and hot hot dogs and a sound system that emits sound.
 
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This made me laugh. I am like Willy on the pot holes, seating capacity, OL coach when it comes to Ryan field. Hey ECat has his tennis ball machine, Glades his 2 star ranked players, GCG his “no”, Glide is hatred for all things SEC not named Mississippi Stare, Felis his 2-1-4-3-2-7, etc. Bear with us all.
Mission accomplished.

And you are not like Willy. But you might be like Glades, especially if you have butt monkeys.
 
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Chill. I appreciate your perspective, but I have no desire to be transported to 1930 type of amenities in 2018. Do you still drive an Auburn BT Speedster? Things evolve and get better, if you want to wait 3 generations to improve facilities because your grandfather sat in this section great, but that doesn’t mean many of the rest have that same attachment. BTW my Grandfather was Fighting in a World War while your grandfather was sitting in that seat. So save the history speech, because the last thing I want is a space ship inside a war memorial. So yes, screw history and I am not any kind of a gentleman.
What the hell? First of all, WW II was in the 40's. I said my grandfather sat in Dyche in the 30's. Perhaps you should bone up on your history after all. By the way, WW II was my father's generation. I won't bore you with tales of my family's service.
 
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What the hell? First of all, WW II was in the 40's. I said my grandfather sat in Dyche in the 30's. Perhaps you should bone up on your history after all. By the way, WW II was my father's generation. I won't bore you with tales of my family's service.
Good for you and even without a NU degree I know when WWII was. Look Pal, this is a message board that consists of people giving opinions. I get you don’t like mine. Perhaps you can state your counterpoint without a passive aggressive blast to a poster. News flash, saying the obvious response is to say Screw you, but you are too much of a gentleman is in fact saying Screw you, but you knew that already. Sorry my opinion is too direct and rankles you, but the fact is my opinion is Ryan Field should be razed and rebuilt and it doesn’t change because Grandpa Streamcat sat in the same stadium section over 80 years ago. Have a good evening.
 
Baylor's McLane stadium is much nicer than TCU's Amon G. Carter rebuild. Way more impressive. Don' know how much each cost, but if they're close to each other in cost, I'd take McLane any day of the week.

http://www.cegengineers.com/images/uploads/53/baylor_stadium-croped_1.jpg

http://diversifiedus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/McLane-Stadium-Announcer-Booth.png

http://www.mclanestadium.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20140827_DIG_7700_PRO-1200x800-1028x600.jpg
$266 million for Baylor.

TCU spent $164 million, but they're planning on adding another $100 million for further luxury additions, so after the 2nd phase TCU's total spend will be very similar to Baylor's...

I think Northwestern's upper limit is around $300 million. For around $250-300 million we can do a complete rebuild with a much better atmosphere (steeper stands in 3 tiers with seats) and a similar outer design and all new infrastructure underneath/inside and bring it up to the very top standard among college football stadiums.
 
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$266 million for Baylor.

TCU spent $164 million, but they're planning on adding another $100 million for further luxury additions, so after the 2nd phase TCU's total spend will be very similar to Baylor's...

I think Northwestern's upper limit is around $300 million. For around $250-300 million we can do a complete rebuild with a much better atmosphere (steeper stands in 3 tiers with seats) and a similar outer design and all new infrastructure underneath/inside and bring it up to the very top standard among college football stadiums.

Construction costs in Waco are much lower than those in Chicago.
 
I travel down to South Texas in order to teach kiteboarding - my second career after I retired from a legit job.

As I drive down I35 coming in to Waco from the north, I am always stunned by the statement McLane Stadium makes to those who drive by. It never ceases to get my attention while going 75 mph past it. If a stadium cam be beautiful, McLane is, and being right next to the Brazos river is pretty cool as you can boat to the game.
 
Assuming Pat Ryan is the lead donor of the potential $150-300 million project (somewhere in that range is reasonable depending on how much they plan to rebuild/renovate), there'd be 2 solid reasons for a rename to Ryan Stadium:

1) Prevent any confusion between the stadium and Ryan Fieldhouse.

2) So the field can be named for a certain coach after he retires in a few decades.

It seems obvious that they considered this when they chose the name of the fieldhouse, but I just wanted to see if anybody had any inside info on this (or is this just an obvious public assumption).
I thought they were going to be Saving Patrick Ryan?
 
I had posted some CAD images a while back of a couple Ryan reno designs I messed with. I still think the stadium can be “shelled” like they did at Ohio State. The East stands need to be completely rebuilt in some form but a shell on the west / east allows a wider lower concourse and an open air outer concourse for the second deck. When they did the Horseshoe they gutted a lot of the under structure to remove old dorms and weird offices while still saving the core for the new facade. A shell doesn’t have to be that wide to be functional and provide space for new restrooms and concessions. Think how wide concourses are at baseball stadiums. Lowering the field would help and in some sections losing some seating to seats instead of bleacher would be welcomed.
 
I travel down to South Texas in order to teach kiteboarding - my second career after I retired from a legit job.

As I drive down I35 coming in to Waco from the north, I am always stunned by the statement McLane Stadium makes to those who drive by. It never ceases to get my attention while going 75 mph past it. If a stadium cam be beautiful, McLane is, and being right next to the Brazos river is pretty cool as you can boat to the game.
I'm stunned that you could get up to 75 mph on I35. That road is a mess.

It's on my list to get to a game at the new Baylor stadium. My mom went to Baylor, and she took us to a few games at the old stadium there back in the day. It was an underwhelming experience.
 
The Brazos River is a gem. If you have a few hours to read “Goodbye to a River” you will be enriched. Anything that draws attention to a river like this is a plus.
My grandfather loved that book. They had a small condo on the Brazos southwest of Fort Worth, and I remember reading the book there.
 
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Hot dogs? That’s why Nobu is on the list. We’re NU, after all. Now the sound system. That’s another story.

Interesting. I'm 70 years old and have no trouble hearing the announcements over the sound system at Ryan. Worst system I've ever tried to hear was the Carrier Dome at Sorry-excuse.
 
I don't gripe all that much about ryan field granted ik it is probably the worst football stadium I have been too. (been to Lambeau, Ford Field, and MSU's.) As long as I have enough room to sit without some other mans thigh rubbing against mine and have a decent sight line, I'm there for what I came for. Ryan field restrooms were kinda nasty and the lines kinda sucked but come on I am there for football not the extras. If I want extras I watching at home. If they want to do a renovation all the power to them. That's awesome I think it would be great. I do think lipstick on this pig would be nice. I guess I am trying to say through all of this I like Ryan Field more for being old and crappy.

I've been to many games over the years at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, and Ryan is a much more comfortable place to watch a ball game.
 
Baylor's McLane stadium is much nicer than TCU's Amon G. Carter rebuild. Way more impressive. Don' know how much each cost, but if they're close to each other in cost, I'd take McLane any day of the week.

http://www.cegengineers.com/images/uploads/53/baylor_stadium-croped_1.jpg

http://diversifiedus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/McLane-Stadium-Announcer-Booth.png

http://www.mclanestadium.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20140827_DIG_7700_PRO-1200x800-1028x600.jpg
Really like the look but does it seat more than 6.800? 39,000?
 
Good for you and even without a NU degree I know when WWII was. Look Pal, this is a message board that consists of people giving opinions. I get you don’t like mine. Perhaps you can state your counterpoint without a passive aggressive blast to a poster. News flash, saying the obvious response is to say Screw you, but you are too much of a gentleman is in fact saying Screw you, but you knew that already. Sorry my opinion is too direct and rankles you, but the fact is my opinion is Ryan Field should be razed and rebuilt and it doesn’t change because Grandpa Streamcat sat in the same stadium section over 80 years ago. Have a good evening.
Actually, you're right. I apologize for my passive agressive response. I hope you have a nice evening, too.
 
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NU Houston:

I35 is the crummiest, most dangerous Interstate road I've ever driven. That's why I go at least 75 mph - to get off it as soon as I can.

On the other hand, the Texas 130 toll road with it's 85 mph speed limit is the best road I've ever driven (except for the slow drivers around Austin).
 
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Capacity = 45,140 expandable to 55,000. Looks like a good size for NU to me.
Yeah, that's something around what we should aim for...

It'd be smart to have a short term capacity reduction (to the 43-45k range) in the context of an expandable stadium with a pre-planned expansion up to 50,000+ dependent on performance.
 
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