Earlier this year, Jesse Marks, the deputy director of athletics for development at Northwestern University, was pondering a crucial question. Where would the Northwestern football team play during the 2024 and 2025 seasons?

The Wildcats’ home base, Ryan Field, was scheduled for a significant renovation. The process was set to kick off with demolition in early 2024, leading to the grand reopening of the improved facility in 2026. Marks’s task was to identify a temporary venue for the team during this two-year gap.

Thanks to Northwestern’s location near Chicago, there were several potential venues to consider. Options included famed locations like Wrigley Field and Soldier Field, home to MLB’s Chicago Cubs and the NFL’s Chicago Bears, respectively, along with SeatGeek Stadium, previously the ground for MLS’s Chicago Fire, located just five miles southwest of Chicago Midway Airport.

A New Plan Emerges

However, Marks and other Northwestern officials quickly realized there was a significant issue with these potential venues: the extensive travel times. As they toured these locations, the lengthy commutes became an unavoidable concern.

“You have to navigate through or around Chicago to reach these places, which can be time-consuming,” Marks explained in an interview with YSL News. “Considering most of our fans hail from the North Shore and travel to the games, this kind of drive wasn’t ideal for anyone involved.”

This inconvenience would not only affect fans but also the athletes.

“There could be a three-hour delay from when the game finishes to when they return to campus, which isn’t optimal for socializing with family or tailgating.”

It was then that a creative solution came to light. For the past eight years, Northwestern’s women’s lacrosse and soccer teams have played at a field located directly across from the recently constructed athletic facility. Why not have the football team use that same space?

On April 10, Northwestern made it official, announcing that the football team would compete at the on-campus field, enhanced with some “temporary improvements.”

In a press conference held the following day, David Braun, Northwestern’s head football coach, commended this decision. He stressed that remaining on campus would greatly benefit not only the players but also the entire student community.

“I am truly thrilled and thankful for this decision made in favor of our student-athletes,” he stated. “This presents a unique chance for our university to foster an atmosphere and environment on campus that will be memorable for years to come.”

An “Unsung Hero” Supports Season Prep

With the plan approved and the season looming just five months away, preparations had to get underway swiftly.

Luke Figora, the university’s chief operating officer, played a pivotal role in assisting Marks and the athletics department in getting everything organized promptly.

“I consider him the unsung hero of this project for uniting various departments that typically don’t collaborate closely with athletics to help us execute this initiative,” Marks remarked. “This encompassed diverse units, from risk management to parking, security, police, IT, facilities management, and athletics itself. It’s a comprehensive effort spanning the entire university.”

Overall, the transition from idea to planning and then to construction took just 60 days, approximately two months.

“Such a swift turnaround wouldn’t have been possible without effective coordination across the campus,” Marks noted.

The Most Unique Gameday Experience at the Power Four’s Smallest Stadium

As the football team gears up for the new field, now called “Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium,” preparations are in full swing.

Braun informed journalists that the team and coaches undertook a “mock game” on Friday to rehearse the logistics of transitioning from the locker rooms to the playing field.

What about the fan experience, though?

Once completed, the on-campus field will accommodate 12,000 fans, making it by far the smallest stadium in terms of capacity among the Power Four conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12). This represents only about 25% of Ryan Field’s previous size, which was already the most compact stadium in the Big Ten.

Within this small capacity of 12,000 A range of seating choices is available.

Those who are ready to splurge can enjoy the game from one of the 16 open-air suites located on the south side of the field, part of a premium, all-inclusive club seating area spanning two levels. According to a representative from Northwestern, the price for reserving a suite varies between $7,700 for an 11-person booking and up to $9,500 for accommodating 14 people.

Alternatively, fans can opt for a table in the field-level seating section, which seats four and costs $1,499 to reserve.

Most of the seating at Martin Stadium consists of bleachers. There are 5,000 bleacher seats located at the north end of the field, with an additional 1,200 on the east side, right next to the lake, situated behind the visiting teams’ bench. The west side features the home sideline and offers 2,500 more bench seats. Higher up on this sideline is what Marks refers to as a “loft level,” which includes 200 barstools and chairs with backs.

As of Wednesday, the entry price for Northwestern’s season opener against Miami (Ohio) is $55 before any added fees. For those who prefer a seat with a back, one can be purchased on the south end of the field, positioned between the field-level loge area and luxury viewing suites, priced at $68, excluding fees.

Behind the premium seating areas, there is a central hub of concessions, featuring a beer garden available to all ticketed guests.

The beer garden is particularly noteworthy since the sale of alcoholic beverages is a new addition to the Wildcats football games. In the previous version of Ryan Field, where Northwestern played for many years, alcohol was not permitted for sale.

Another Home Venue for Northwestern

This season, the Wildcats will kick off their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, playing the first five of their seven scheduled home games by the lake. Following the opener against Miami (Ohio), teams like Duke, Eastern Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin will visit.

For the last two home games, against Ohio State on November 16 and Illinois on November 30, Northwestern will play at Wrigley Field, set to occur after the Cubs have wrapped up their season. These matchups are also anticipated to be some of the most popular on the schedule.

Wrigley has hosted Northwestern a number of times in the past. Last season, the Wildcats faced Iowa at the Cubs’ ballpark, resulting in a 10-7 defeat. The team’s previous game at Wrigley Field before that was a 32-14 loss to Purdue in 2021.

Tailgating Options Available at Northwestern Football Games in 2024

Northwestern is providing an array of tailgating packages at different price tiers for the 2024 season, branded as the “Lakeside Gameday Experience.” Each package allows access to the main experience area with amenities including live music, food and beverage purchases, a large video screen for game viewing, and various activities like cornhole.

Higher-tier packages also include options to reserve designated spaces for experiencing the game, ranging from 10-person tented setups to two-story chalets accommodating 50. These premium options allow fans to pre-order catered food and beverages to be served in their designated areas.

You won’t need to carry tents or equipment across campus; everything is set up for you when you arrive,” Marks explained.

No matter how fans choose to enjoy the games, one thing is certain: this year’s home game experience at Northwestern will offer an extraordinarily unique atmosphere compared to other college football experiences. With its smaller capacity and the potential for weather-affected plays due to the nearby Lake Michigan, there will be no shortage of exciting moments in Evanston.

“We aim to encourage all faculty, staff, students, alumni, and everyone on campus to come together and celebrate Northwestern football on game days, creating a unified campus community,” Marks stated. “We recognized what needed to be done, and this approach was the best solution for our program over the next two years.”