Not "never" but not in our lifetime. They have floating offshore wind turbines.
I recommend against calling it Fitzgerald stadium out of respect and fear of the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The future of Ryan Field
- Thread starter Alvious
- Start date
I recommend against calling it Fitzgerald stadium out of respect and fear of the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald
What is the deck size of a US Aircraft Carrier? One that is being decommissioned could be a cheap alternative to building a floating stadium. (Good luck though getting it through the Great Lakes Waterway.)
Just the facts my man. You made a dumb post and can't bring yourself to admit it. There was nothing about willy's post that constituted bitching, and many others agreed with a number of his suggestions for the renovation of Ryan Field.
Ran across this article on new MLS stadium construction:
7 pro soccer stadiums underway across the US
An MLS building boom encompasses projects totaling $2.85 billion over the next two years, in preparation for the league's expansion to 30 teams.www.constructiondive.com
Generally smaller capacity than would be ideal for NU but indicative of what could be done. Facility likely would need to be multi-purpose to justify - local HS sports, lacrosse, soccer, etc.
These are all ideal. I like the idea of designing the covering in the gothic style that is throughout campus. Doesn't have to be as big or grand, just something that keeps noise down. For lake views, you can elevate a sky deck in the south end zone.
Yes it is a mile from north campus but you have to justify it somehow, make it a research center anything else besides just a football stadium. Ever been to a state university? A mile is nothing
It’s going to be funded by private donations, not public money. There’s no reason to “justify” anything. If Pat Ryan wants to pay for a stadium rehab, that’s all I need.
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My thoughts exactly. Don't block the northern view towards the new basketball hall. Make Randy Walker Terrace into a permanent adult SRO section with beer sales. Alumni only?
There’s a great idea. Sure keeping non-alumni out of any area will do wonders for NU’s ability to grow the fan base.
I don't know about the alumni only thing, but here should be a section and a lounge for graduate students, and make it really really nice...and free (with drinks and food). I don't know what Northwestern does to court grad students, but it seems like if you could get Law, Business, and Medical grad students to the games, build some great memories for them while at the games and make them fans, they would be wonderful future contributors to the athletics program.
That reminds me of when I worked at Blomquist Gym and would take tennis reservations.
Me: "are you a student?"
They: (without fail)"yes I am a graduate student"
Me: "that means you're a student, right?"
Me: "are you a student?"
They: (without fail)"yes I am a graduate student"
Me: "that means you're a student, right?"
The condition of the stadium is getting bad. At the game on Friday, I saw a guy standing on the end of a bleacher, and it came loose on one end, popped up in the air, and almost hit him on the head as he dropped to the ground.
Another minor gripe I had was no soap in the men's room (before the game even started). Perhaps not the best during a pandemic.
Another minor gripe I had was no soap in the men's room (before the game even started). Perhaps not the best during a pandemic.
I was impressed with the "efficiency" of the entry process. It reminded me of European crowd control-funnel the masses through limited entry sites then collect the crushed dead bodies afterwards
Everybody knows it, but the pandemic/Phillips leaving basically put things in limbo a bit.
The major donors already were discussing the stadium project a few years ago after the fundraising for the arena/fieldhouse were completed.
Also the campus being a bit in overbuilding mode/overrunning costs leading to budgets needing a bit of administrative downsizing affected athletics probably to some extent.
If none of those things had happened, I think we'd be in the midst of a $300-400 million renovation already with Phillips in charge.
Hopefully by 2023-2024 we can get that in motion. Problem was just the instability in the AD due to musical chairs at the top along with the cost overruns elsewhere on campus.
I should mention: one thing that will likely help push this along is that many of our major donors are reaching ages where they/we can't afford to wait. Even a couple of years can't really be afforded due to that issue, so there is an incentive to get the stadium project off the ground even with the pandemic/AD issues.
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Yeah, that was ridiculous. We joined a reasonably short (compared to other gates) line at the gate we always have entered for years, which yields a direct path to our seat portal. After a few minutes of standing in line with zero movement, they started yelling that this was a “medical entrance only”, whatever that is supposed to mean. There were no signs indicating this, nor was there anyone near the back of the line warning people not to invest their time in that line. Their efforts were futile, as kickoff was approaching and everyone in that line had already spent a fair amount of time waiting. The person scanning tickets spent literally minutes per person.
I should mention as an addition to my post above that 1) the campus budget is already back into surplus as a result of staff/administrative cuts and endowment overperformance, and 2) the AD budget will likely mostly be fixed by the next fiscal year 2022-2023.
Combine with all that how well our major donors are likely doing financially due to the performance of assets over the past 15 months, and it really does feel like everything lines up for the AD to start putting things into motion over the next 2 years.
I think we should go for the full rebuild (but it's not my money) and build something that can stand for 50+ years.
I think if we start right after a football season ends (2024 or 2025 or 2026), we'd have to move the team for just 1 season giving 18 months to build.
Combine with all that how well our major donors are likely doing financially due to the performance of assets over the past 15 months, and it really does feel like everything lines up for the AD to start putting things into motion over the next 2 years.
I think we should go for the full rebuild (but it's not my money) and build something that can stand for 50+ years.
I think if we start right after a football season ends (2024 or 2025 or 2026), we'd have to move the team for just 1 season giving 18 months to build.
Plus 1 on these ideas. Bring it all in. I think the angled grass around the endzones is the remnants of a stadium that had a track around their football field.
Does anyone have insight here? I think Ryan, when it was Dyche, was modified/renovated in the 90s, added grass at the ends, to make people forget the track - that it had many more uses than a football stadium.
We need to close it off and bring it in! Part of the problem of the game day experience is that the everyone sits far away from the field.
I know we tend to forget about everyone else, but Long Field is a crucial outdoor space for the entire student body. Hosts intramurals, some club sports, even band practices at times. It’s also just a general green space open to all, which is even more important now that similar spots on North Campus have been repurposed to mostly athletics facilities. It would also be an extremely tight fit with zero capacity for parking or transportation. If Evanston Water Department ever moved elsewhere - which ain’t happening for obvious reasons - that footprint is quite a bit bigger and could maybe, possibly, be doable.
Either way, I don’t really think that having a stadium somewhere on campus, which isn’t really feasible anyway, would materially change attendance of students. And the inherent difficulties of getting in and out would likely only depress our non-student attendance, except for visitors willing to deal with it every other year to see their teams play.
Looks huge but it has only 47,000 seats, just a bit less than Ryan Field has now.
It fits our current stadium "footprint". No need to build into the parking lots.
Hire these architects and say "do again, please".
Amon Carter Stadium - Facts, figures, pictures and more of the TCU Horned Frogs college football stadium
Information, pictures, history and more of Amon Carter Stadium, home of the TCU Horned Frogs
TCU Football - Game Day In Hi-Def!
Transforming the Home of TCU Football. Completely rebuilt in 2012, Amon G. Carter Stadium has become one of the premier venues in intercollegiate athletics. The east side expansion project is essential to fulfilling our commitment of providing an unparalleled fan experience.
www.tcuinhidef.com
I really don't hate the current seats, except for those that are on the ends of the sideline past the end zone. I just think everything needs to be modernized (sound system, Jumbotron, lights, rest rooms). I would love bleachers with backs, and perhaps a little more knee room, but I may as well ask for the sky at that point.
I think the idea of keeping the sound in would be great if we sold enough tickets to keep visiting fans from having a substantial enough crowd to make more noise than the home crowd.
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love it, I want to watch football in a special box in a tower. Actually, you can already do that if you live, for example, at 640 North Wells. I'm reclusive, so if they just put a chair by a window in one of the towers a Ryan, I'll be fine. As long as they get rid of the rats first.
I drove by it last month. They really did this right and I agree, exactly what I would hope for at NU. Awesome stadium. The amenities in this joint keep their high rollers happy.Looks huge but it has only 47,000 seats, just a bit less than Ryan Field has now.
It fits our current stadium "footprint". No need to build into the parking lots.
Hire these architects and say "do again, please".
Amon Carter Stadium - Facts, figures, pictures and more of the TCU Horned Frogs college football stadium
Information, pictures, history and more of Amon Carter Stadium, home of the TCU Horned Frogswww.collegegridirons.com
TCU Football - Game Day In Hi-Def!
Transforming the Home of TCU Football. Completely rebuilt in 2012, Amon G. Carter Stadium has become one of the premier venues in intercollegiate athletics. The east side expansion project is essential to fulfilling our commitment of providing an unparalleled fan experience.www.tcuinhidef.com
Yeah TCU's stadium is a solid example of how you can create a great atmosphere that sounds and feels like 70k fans with less than 50k.
We can have all the fancy bells and whistles (i.e. large screens and substantial luxury box footprint for donors), but building vertically is a must given we're going to have far fewer people in the stadium.
I think rebuilding the whole thing is a must just for that effect, there's no reason to keep the shallow bowl effect unless you're Michigan with 110k fans or something like that.
We can remake the 4 towers as originally envisioned to keep that flavor, but I think rebuilding vertically is too important to keep the current footprint (but again it's not my money).
For us, we really need a vertical build that makes the place much more like a big time atmosphere and with better sightlines as well.
We can have all the fancy bells and whistles (i.e. large screens and substantial luxury box footprint for donors), but building vertically is a must given we're going to have far fewer people in the stadium.
I think rebuilding the whole thing is a must just for that effect, there's no reason to keep the shallow bowl effect unless you're Michigan with 110k fans or something like that.
We can remake the 4 towers as originally envisioned to keep that flavor, but I think rebuilding vertically is too important to keep the current footprint (but again it's not my money).
For us, we really need a vertical build that makes the place much more like a big time atmosphere and with better sightlines as well.
Except for the aesthetics of the exterior--phony campus Romanesque. Get a little creative in combining the old and the new. Incorporate towers.
The more I think about it, a new stadium is the way to go--too many impediments in a renovation, even though I lean toward renovation over new construction in most cases. The entire east, north and south seating would need to be torn down in any case. The only redeeming part of the stadium is the west stands, and in order to properly remodel that, it would need to be expanded westward at least to the street to provide the space necessary for better circulation, bathrooms and food vendors (kind of like TC bank stadium, which provides a wide pedestrian ring all the way around the stadium at the top of the lower deck, with a variety of food vendors and plenty of bathrooms and other services).
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The problem with a new stadium, and I say this as someone who knows nothing about architecture, is that it seems we want a 21st century stadium to be built on a 19th century footprint.
Yeah I think the key is to not try to do both while keeping the old frame. Otherwise you end up with Soldier Field with some sort of UFO landing in an old bowl shaped structure that basically looks like an eyesore.
I think we have to start from scratch and rebuild features we'd want like the towers so that they can be properly incorporated into the design.
I certainly hope everyone calling for new stadium (or major redo) won't be back afterwards complaining about seat donation requirements and/or PSL's.
We don't need the south end zone seating. It should just be torn down. Those seats are terrible. I think NU would be fine with two grandstands along either sideline. We don't need more than 40,000 seats, likely less going forward since every game is on TV. That said, I'm not chipping in any more than my season ticket fees.
