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Ryan Field Renovation

N

NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
21,928
2,085
113
A tidbit from Teddy.....no mention of a dome though.

Next on the to-do list is dumpy Ryan Field, desperate for a renovation.

Only 33,765 turned out Saturday to watch the Wildcats win for their fifth straight Big Ten game. The seating capacity needs to shrink from 47,330 to around 40,000, chairbacks should supplant bleachers and the restrooms, concessions and concourses need to reflect the current millennium.

School officials will commission an updated facilities master plan before announcing a renovation, likely in 2018 or 2019.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...etball-ranking-greenstein-20171114-story.html
 
P

pawildcat_rivals209725

Senior
Sep 15, 2006
12,698
996
0
Fitzphile said:
A tidbit from Teddy.....no mention of a dome though.

Next on the to-do list is dumpy Ryan Field, desperate for a renovation.

Only 33,765 turned out Saturday to watch the Wildcats win for their fifth straight Big Ten game. The seating capacity needs to shrink from 47,330 to around 40,000, chairbacks should supplant bleachers and the restrooms, concessions and concourses need to reflect the current millennium.

School officials will commission an updated facilities master plan before announcing a renovation, likely in 2018 or 2019.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...etball-ranking-greenstein-20171114-story.html
Click to expand...

So where do we play while that is being renovated? Wrigley? Soldier Field?
 
G

Gocatsgo2003

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2006
47,406
3,940
78
Fitzphile said:
A tidbit from Teddy.....no mention of a dome though.

Next on the to-do list is dumpy Ryan Field, desperate for a renovation.

Only 33,765 turned out Saturday to watch the Wildcats win for their fifth straight Big Ten game. The seating capacity needs to shrink from 47,330 to around 40,000, chairbacks should supplant bleachers and the restrooms, concessions and concourses need to reflect the current millennium.

School officials will commission an updated facilities master plan before announcing a renovation, likely in 2018 or 2019.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...etball-ranking-greenstein-20171114-story.html
Click to expand...

7,039. So much for all that bitching about 6,800, eh?
 
P

pschatz25

Redshirt
Nov 29, 2005
2,113
12
0
pawildcat said:
So where do we play while that is being renovated? Wrigley? Soldier Field?
Click to expand...

We wouldn't necessarily have to play elsewhere, depending on the extent of the renovations and the timeline for completing them. In fact I would bank on that being the case.

Despite TG's comment, I thought 33k for a November night game against a unattractive opponent wasn't too bad. It reaffirmed my opinion that the NU fanbase at home games is 20-25k. So going down to 40k for capacity would be fine, but I'd even be fine going down to 35k. An intimate venue with a large majority of NU fans would be a good experience. Heck, let's call it 35,095 to remind us when football started at NU. :)
 
W

willycat

Junior
Jan 11, 2005
21,448
318
0
pschatz25 said:
We wouldn't necessarily have to play elsewhere, depending on the extent of the renovations and the timeline for completing them. In fact I would bank on that being the case.

Despite TG's comment, I thought 33k for a November night game against a unattractive opponent wasn't too bad. It reaffirmed my opinion that the NU fanbase at home games is 20-25k. So going down to 40k for capacity would be fine, but I'd even be fine going down to 35k. An intimate venue with a large majority of NU fans would be a good experience. Heck, let's call it 35,095 to remind us when football started at NU. :)
Click to expand...
Why not 25,000? Then they could have a smaller stadium then MAC schools. What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
 
F

Fitz51

Senior
Oct 21, 2008
10,117
649
113
willycat said:
What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
Click to expand...

I think the answer has been shown to be, almost always, no, unless the team is like Top 10 ranked. It's not going to change.
 
Hungry Jack

Hungry Jack

All-American
Nov 17, 2008
39,823
7,442
67
willycat said:
Why not 25,000? Then they could have a smaller stadium then MAC schools. What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
Click to expand...
Bah Humbug
 
G

Gocatsgo2003

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2006
47,406
3,940
78
willycat said:
Why not 25,000? Then they could have a smaller stadium then MAC schools. What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
Click to expand...

Apparently not.
 
S

Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
10,061
869
113
Seats over bleachers would go a long way to building the brand of Ryan Field as a "nice" stadium. I have no frame of reference but I'd be really interested to know the cost difference between a row of bleacher seats vs. seats with cup holders. Whatever the answer, I believe it could pay for itself over a 20-year period if you assume that's the time distance between renovations. I went to TCF Bank Stadium last year for the Minnesota game, and I was very impressed with the venue - it's funny how much nicer it feels just to sit in a plastic chair over an aluminum bleacher.

And whether you drop capacity to 45 or 40K, it makes sense, which also creates artificial demand for some games. Strategically, all this makes very good sense.

I have to believe the holdup here is A) reluctance to ask Pat Ryan for more money right after the Fieldhouse and B) a general fear that stadium upgrades will not automatically result in fans willing to pay more for tickets.
 
A

Alaskawildkat

Senior
Dec 28, 2005
20,847
619
113
pawildcat said:
So where do we play while that is being renovated? Wrigley? Soldier Field?
Click to expand...

The school will just rent a few barges and place them out in Lake Michigan so we can watch the games being played on the new practice field.

 
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mickbula

mickbula

Junior
Jul 1, 2011
3,137
375
83
I would be willing to pay more to see games with actual seats to sit on! I really hate the bleachers like hschool games! I always seemed to sit next to a dude who weighs over 300lbs and is 6'8". Really- getting real seats like at a Bears game would be a significant improvement and would be well-welcomed by this Cats fan!
 
stpaulcat

stpaulcat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
35,486
1,008
113
mickbula said:
I would be willing to pay more to see games with actual seats to sit on! I really hate the bleachers like hschool games! I always seemed to sit next to a dude who weighs over 300lbs and is 6'8". Really- getting real seats like at a Bears game would be a significant improvement and would be well-welcomed by this Cats fan!
Click to expand...
Is that what is meant by a bench press?
 
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pawildcat_rivals209725

Senior
Sep 15, 2006
12,698
996
0
pschatz25 said:
We wouldn't necessarily have to play elsewhere, depending on the extent of the renovations and the timeline for completing them. In fact I would bank on that being the case.

Despite TG's comment, I thought 33k for a November night game against a unattractive opponent wasn't too bad. It reaffirmed my opinion that the NU fanbase at home games is 20-25k. So going down to 40k for capacity would be fine, but I'd even be fine going down to 35k. An intimate venue with a large majority of NU fans would be a good experience. Heck, let's call it 35,095 to remind us when football started at NU. :)
Click to expand...

It would depend on whether they're really going to gut the place or just rip up the seats and replace them with something else. It would obviously have to be something they could do in the off season if they're not going to use another venue. A capacity of 40,000 seats is probably fine for a school with an undergraduate enrollment of about 8,000-9,000.
 
Purple Pile Driver

Purple Pile Driver

All-Conference
May 14, 2014
29,068
4,252
113
mickbula said:
I would be willing to pay more to see games with actual seats to sit on! I really hate the bleachers like hschool games! I always seemed to sit next to a dude who weighs over 300lbs and is 6'8". Really- getting real seats like at a Bears game would be a significant improvement and would be well-welcomed by this Cats fan!
Click to expand...
Come over to the East side of the Stadium. I️ am on the 40 yard line at a near perfect height and have yet to have anyone sit next to me. Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy could fit in my row.
 
N

NURoseBowl

Junior
Jun 16, 2009
8,228
376
58
Purple Pile Driver said:
Come over to the East side of the Stadium. I️ am on the 40 yard line at a near perfect height and have yet to have anyone sit next to me. Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy could fit in my row.
Click to expand...
Sad that you can say that. I'm also on the East side, about 2/3 of the way up, around the 30 and I often have empty seats around me.
 
DaCat

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,912
2,449
113
willycat said:
Why not 25,000? Then they could have a smaller stadium then MAC schools. What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
Click to expand...

We have to optimize the fan experience for the annual Spring game, so I vote for 6,800.
 
S

scru

Redshirt
Sep 4, 2005
2,388
8
0
willycat said:
Why not 25,000? Then they could have a smaller stadium then MAC schools. What an honor for a program that calls itself Chicago's Big Ten School". Don't some of those millions want to see a football game on Saturday's?
Click to expand...
Yep, about 20k.
 
D

d'son d

Freshman
Dec 18, 2007
1,908
74
33
Put an exciting winning product on the field and they will come. '95 did that even in cold times, stuffing the seats with purple because it was a new experience to have a winning and nationally ranked team that America fell in love with. This cardiac thing can just go so far before [people tire of it. But we never tire of a dominant win over a good team. Cutting the numbers may have it look better. If someone knows the actual plans that would be even better for this board. Our row, is section 130 is always filled, every game, no matter the weather. Well, OK, last game some didn't show, but i'm sure there was a great reason. Anyway, for Saturday we'll be there with proper attire so the elements will be a non factor. Go 'CATS
 
C

clarificationcat

Junior
Jan 25, 2005
3,341
233
52
d'son d said:
Put an exciting winning product on the field and they will come. '95 did that even in cold times, stuffing the seats with purple because it was a new experience to have a winning and nationally ranked team that America fell in love with. This cardiac thing can just go so far before [people tire of it. But we never tire of a dominant win over a good team. Cutting the numbers may have it look better. If someone knows the actual plans that would be even better for this board. Our row, is section 130 is always filled, every game, no matter the weather. Well, OK, last game some didn't show, but i'm sure there was a great reason. Anyway, for Saturday we'll be there with proper attire so the elements will be a non factor. Go 'CATS
Click to expand...
We have a pretty exciting winning product and they don't come. If we can consistently compete for the conference championship, then I agree we will fill most of the seats but that's likely not happening so we need to make adjustments at this point.
 
P

PogeyKahn

Redshirt
Apr 28, 2006
951
48
0
Not that my opinion matters, but I'd level it and start over, or maybe consider keeping the whole west side and rebuild everything else, sort of like TCU did very effectively.

There is nothing wrong with
 
A

ashley0623_rivals

Redshirt
Mar 11, 2011
495
1
0
TCU’s stadium is about 40,000 and that’s the #1 program in Texas this decade. 40k with more premium seats is a good idea.
 
C

charcat

Redshirt
Apr 11, 2006
547
39
17
Stanford stadium is not that great. Sterile and lots of endzone seats

In a renovation of Ryan field you could eliminate the south endzone seats and build a hotel with rooms looking over the stadium
 
I

iskaboo

Sophomore
Aug 23, 2011
1,810
140
63
charcat said:
In a renovation of Ryan field you could eliminate the south endzone seats and build a hotel with rooms looking over the stadium
Click to expand...

If Evanston is still the same as when I lived there 25 years ago, NU could build apartments to replace the south end zone seats. Then, the new residents could complain about the noise and petition the city to prohibit all events at Ryan Field.
 
H

hdhntr1

All-Conference
Sep 5, 2006
38,588
1,469
113
clarificationcat said:
We have a pretty exciting winning product and they don't come. If we can consistently compete for the conference championship, then I agree we will fill most of the seats but that's likely not happening so we need to make adjustments at this point.
Click to expand...
We are getting more consistent but still the early season losses can hurt attendance for the rest of the season. But next year with Mich, ND, WIS, NEB likely to have 4 close to sellouts out of 7. Cutting capacity would hurt And it is easy enough to cut capacity by blocking of a couple sections at the north end. Issues with wanting actual seats, restrooms and wider concourses plus perm lights I can get on board with and putting in seats might cut capacity a bit anyway.
 
Purple Pile Driver

Purple Pile Driver

All-Conference
May 14, 2014
29,068
4,252
113
hdhntr1 said:
We are getting more consistent but still the early season losses can hurt attendance for the rest of the season. But next year with Mich, ND, WIS, NEB likely to have 4 close to sellouts out of 7. Cutting capacity would hurt And it is easy enough to cut capacity by blocking of a couple sections at the north end. Issues with wanting actual seats, restrooms and wider concourses plus perm lights I can get on board with and putting in seats might cut capacity a bit anyway.
Click to expand...

This article is a decade old but what the hell, topic is good enough for two near identical threads, so thought I️ would add it.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/education/01stanford.html
 
T

T_Levine

Redshirt
May 26, 2010
2,197
34
0
HappyNUyear said:
I’ve heard this will be a complete tear down similar to that of Stanford and possibly ready to go the following season
Click to expand...

Stanford was not a complete tear down. It was just basically an internal gutting. Reduction from 80k to 40k in seating.

Alum ariallga (sp) is a huge huge donor and construction guy who built all the seating offsite and then put it in in one offseason.

I think this is what we should do, but also make some cosmetic upgrades to the south end zone.
 
N

NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
21,928
2,085
113
willycat said:
But it could be home to the NCAA Champion NU soccer team. Or they could bring back track or add a dome a add hockey. Demolition Derby's ?
Click to expand...
Or Roller Derby. I saw women's roller derby on ESPN2 last week. They don't use the banked track anymore.
 
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