On Saturday, Aug. 31, Northwestern opened its 2024 football season with an exhilarating 13-6 victory over Miami (Ohio) … but something was different.
For past 97 Northwestern Football seasons, the streets of northern Evanston on game day would be filled with exuberant fans waiting for Ryan Field to welcome them in, but August 31st marked a new beginning. Northwestern football debuted its temporary stadium, located just a few yards from the dazzling shores of Lake Michigan.
Instead of trying to play home games at sports staples such as Wrigley or Soldier Field, the city opted to construct stands around the existing soccer and lacrosse fields. It took workers 60 days for four separate stands, along with two video boards on the side adjacent to the lake.
The stadium has been officially named Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium and serves as a temporary venue while construction begins on the new 800-million-dollar Northwestern football stadium. This new facility will be built on the land of the prior stadium, Ryan Field. Construction commenced on Feb. 17 of last year, with hopes for completion by 2026.
Before the temporary stadium was built, the lakefront served as a hub for all sorts of team practices across all ages. This gave residents like Onyx Lo a sense of familiarity and pride towards the new stadium.
“What’s wild is that the same field where I used to play flag football at Northwestern sports camp is now being used by some of the most famous athletes in the country,” they explained.
However, Medicine Field is located in the densest part of campus, meaning the bustling crowds on gameday can make it difficult to navigate.
“I think [the stadium] is a good idea in theory, but it takes up like a third of the campus on game days, which makes it impossible to do anything in the area,” said sophomore Sam Stringer.
In recent years, Northwestern has ranked in the bottom half of the league for game-day attendance; Ryan Field was simply too large for the university to fill consistently. However, the temporary stadium, with roughly a quarter of the capacity of Ryan Field, sold out for its first two games. Even with the smaller stadium, however, some were caught off guard by the number of attendees, especially considering the team’s less-than-stellar record.
“Northwestern isn’t doing too well, so it was a little surprising to me [that the games sold out],” stated sophomore Norah Tillery.
The lakefront location has allowed Northwestern to revamp its tailgating experience, offering greater food options, spaces for families to relax before games and premium tents for watching the game. Even with its high prices, it is enjoyed by many fans.
“The tailgating experience feels really unique and definitely has its charm; it, along with the lakefront location, really gives the stadium character,” commented junior Topar Luritzen.
Despite some complaints about traffic, the stadium has been a massive success in its early days, with sellout crowds, increased tailgating opportunities and enthusiastic fans.
