Photos of Ryan Field Demolition/Construction
- Thread starter pschatz25
- Start date
Wrigley Field was built for baseball but now is hosting football games. How well has that worked out? The new Ryan Field may be built for football, but it is shortsighted to ignore other activities.
1. Will NU continue to play FB at its' current level with all the cost changes that are coming
2. Will FB survive future litigation about injury/health concerns ?
3. What happens if Evanston opens its' eyes to the economic advantages of a true multipurpose stadium, allowing expanded use
4. What happens if NU discovers that seat licenses are insufficient to finance ongoing costs?
5. Building a $1 billion stadium to host 12 events a year and ignoring the future does not seem like a good plan
1. Will NU continue to play FB at its' current level with all the cost changes that are coming
2. Will FB survive future litigation about injury/health concerns ?
3. What happens if Evanston opens its' eyes to the economic advantages of a true multipurpose stadium, allowing expanded use
4. What happens if NU discovers that seat licenses are insufficient to finance ongoing costs?
5. Building a $1 billion stadium to host 12 events a year and ignoring the future does not seem like a good plan
Doc, I do not believe this was ever the plan. It was the pitch because the plan would have generated too much opposition. The Wrigley reference is apt on multiple levels.
It’s mostly Pat Ryan’s money. The altruistic “what about other events?” stuff doesn’t really matter because he wants to build a top-class football stadium with his millions.
NU actually asked for a lot more concerts (wanna say 15-20), but cut it back to get the approvals done. I’m sure the hope is to have a few years of fewer concerts then go back to the City with proof of execution and economic benefit to get the number increased.
And that is the count of only the large concerts. I believe the current approved plan is for up to 60 events of less than 10,000 attendees, if I’m not mistaken. This seems to be overlooked.
The program is behind pretty much every other B1G school when it comes to attendance revenue; having other events will help cut into that deficit.
How does Concerts help revenues for the program? How much of the Lynard Skynard take would the athletic Department get? Rugby wouldn’t draw flies .
Hard to know until we know exactly how concert revenue enters the school. We just don't really know what the net profit from concerts would go towards (at least some earnings would go to covering the cost of the stadium itself and the annual maintenance costs of RF).
I don't know but every facility in the he world is looking for more events so there must be an upside. The idea on rugby or other events is one off that would draw a crowd. If NU isn't interested, fair enough.
They literally redesigned Wrigley with the ability to host football in mind.
I appreciate that many don’t like the sight lines but hosting football, hockey, and concerts has been great for the Cubs and their ownership.
There were 63,500 flies that watched Ireland defeat the All Blacks at Soldiers' Field in 2016. The day before, the Maori All Blacks defeated the USA before a sellout 20,000+ gnats at Seat Geek.
The IRFU has promoted games in the USA, in hopes that the USA will become a viable rugby nation in the future. This year Scotland plays the USA in Washington DC at a moderate capacity stadium. Romania plays the USA at Seat Geek July 5-although the USA may be mildly competitive against Romania , the opponent and holiday may adversely influence attendance. The All Blacks play Fiji at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium on July 19-I would think a near capacity crowd for that match
I believe there will be swarms of flies emptying their wallets in 2031, when the USA hosts the Rugby World Cup. A 35,000 seat stadium in Chicago , with a satisfactory playing surface, would be an ideal location for some of the lesser pool matches and could be combined with Soldiers' Field hosting the games with major powers, The economic impact for Chicago would be substantial. NU could benefit financially and the stadium would be a selling point for NU.
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You are talking the All Blacks and National Teams Doc. What happens after that? The Rolling Stones can still fill a 70,000 seat stadium, but there’s not enough of them to go around.
There isn't a lot to look at right now. There's a large hole with a retaining wall being constructed around it. Hopefully the first picture below gives you an idea of the scene. About a month ago the construction company improved the 'privacy screens' around the site. The screens are transparent enough for someone passing by to look through and see what's going on, but opaque enough that pictures don't really convey the view. There are a couple entry points around the site that you can take pictures through, but for now, while there isn't anything built yet that rises up above the fences, it's not that exciting.
Also, here's a rough before and after view going East on Central St.
Rich (BB code):
Also, here's a rough before and after view going East on Central St.
Rich (BB code):
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There isn't a lot to look at right now. There's a large hole with a retaining wall being constructed around it. Hopefully the first picture below gives you an idea of the scene. About a month ago the construction company improved the 'privacy screens' around the site. The screens are transparent enough for someone passing by to look through and see what's going on, but opaque enough that pictures don't really convey the view. There are a couple entry points around the site that you can take pictures through, but for now, while there isn't anything built yet that rises up above the fences, it's not that exciting.
Rich (BB code):
Also, here's a rough before and after view going East on Central St.
Rich (BB code):
Thank you for sharing. We really need a construction cam in place. Someone wake Gragg. Better yet, someone alert @LakeThePosts !
He's probably still hiding in Italy. Wouldn't want to interrupt his dinner
Maybe we can pitch in and buy @pschatz25 a drone to take some aerial footage.
There won't be much to see for a long time. Here is a link to a document that has the project timeline. Steel erection won't start until December this year.
The rugby games I am mentioning are international games that would not need a 70,000 seat stadium. The games listed would be ideal for a moderate sized stadium, played in the summer rugby offseason, much like a concert . USA matches would only need 10-20K
I believe that only soccer's World Cup has greater attendance than rugby's World Cup. The 2023 Rugby World Cup attracted 2,437,000 to France. Several 35,000 seat stadiums were used including Stade de Toulouse(33K), Stade de Nice(35K) Stade de Beaujoire(Nantes 35K). Chicago could package Soldiers Field and Ryan Field to be one of the primary pool sites. The Semi-Finals and Final would require 70-100K stadiums.
The soccer World Cup had 32 teams (expanding to 48 in 2026) , Rugby had 20 teams but because it is a more physical game, there are rest requirements but 2.44 million compares favorably with the 3.4 million that attended the Soccer World Cup that featured significantly more games.
I believe one off summer rugby or soccer internationals would be an ideal use of the new Ryan
"Where have all the towers gone, long time passing..."Here are a couple pictures in case anyone is wondering how the Ryan Field site looks these days.
Rich (BB code):
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