Last Saturday I attended a game at the New Ryan Field for the first time, along with Mrs. Astro, of course, and we enjoyed the experience. It was lightyears ahead of anything at the Old Ryan Field or Dyche Stadium. What follows is a description of my observations and thoughts.
The security and ticket scanning facilities are located well outside of the stadium, which turns out to be great idea. It is as if the stadium itself is enclosed in a fenced off area, which also contains various stands and pop-up cafes offering food, drink, and even specialty coffees. This allows you go seamlessly in and out of the stadium during the game, and allows the stadium entrances to be wider and more inviting than if they had to do the ticket scanning there.
As for the ticket scanning itself, I had the TicketMaster app and the New Ryan Field app on my phone. I had already put the tickets into Google Wallet, and I was able to simply hold the phone near the reader to have them scanned. It was very similar to using tap-to-pay. If for some reason, that failed, I was prepared to display the ticket using the New Ryan Field app, but that was not necessary.
Regarding the ticket scanning, if one person in a group has all the tickets for several people on one phone, my advice is to have that person stand in place and do all the scanning one at a time, while the members of the group pass through the turnstile one at a time as it lights up to allow access. The person doing the scanning would then do himself (or herself) last. Note that you can't simply scan four tickets and then expect it will allow four people to enter. The scanning and entering has to be one one at a time.
So we then entered the secure area and I took a look at the stadium. The north entrance is very wide, and you can actually see all the way in to the inner bowl. Directly in the middle of this entrance is a full service bar, where they had draft beers and were also mixing drinks on demand. This was a most welcoming sight, and as we circumnavigated the lower level of the stadium, I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of other bars at various locations. Not only that, but many of the permanent food venues had well-stocked refrigerators with 16-oz cans of beer. Compared to the Old Ryan Field, the availability of alcohol is a wonderful improvement.
As we walked around the main level, you find two types of permanent food venues repeated multiple times. None of them seemed that crowded before the game, and traffic seemed to flow well. There were also a number of temporary stands representing restaurants, such as Hecky's and Mustard's.
Prices for food and drink are very high -- perhaps not as bad a pro stadium, but getting there. My first purchase was a hamburger and a beer (a 16-oz can of Sketchbook Amistosa). I then settled into my seat. The burger was meaty, but the bun was a bit dried out. However, the beer was great.
There are quite a few bathrooms around the lower level, although not so many that lines did not form during halftime (but even then, the wait was not that long).
The south entrance is also the student entrance. The Wildcat Statue is now located there, and it serves as a major photo-op for almost everyone coming in through that entrance.
As for the seat itself, it seems to be made of hard plastic and includes a full seatback and a cupholder. All seats in the lower level have a good view of the field. There are large video screens above the north and south endzones. The sound from the public address system was a little too loud, but we got used to it. Note that the field itself is at least 10 feet below ground level, so even in the lower bowl you are looking down.
There is a man who functions as a kind of master of ceremonies during the video segments of the pregame and halftime shows. He seems to hang out in front of the student section. He has a loud voice, wears a cowboy hat, and has a bit of a Texas swagger. He seemed an odd choice for Northwestern, but he did a fine job. I suspect his purpose is to loosen up the fans so they are ready to make noise during the game. As to whether he succeeded, the results were mixed -- at least for the Rutgers game.
The student section looked energetic, and they made a lot of noise, but it did not appear to be completely filled. In fact, there were empty seats in several parts of the lower level.
The entrance of the team onto the field was well done, and it involved music and video and pyrotechnics. During some (but not all) Wildcat touchdowns more serious fireworks were launched from the roof of the stadium.
I liked that at the top of our section (and many other sections), there is a drink rail where you can put your drink and your food while watching the game. I tried it out after getting a draft beer from the aforementioned bar. This is a nice feature because it allows you spend time talking with someone who does not happen to sit next to you. You can just stand there with your drink and chat and not miss any of the game.
I did not venture into the upper levels on this visit. I was very comfortable and happy where I was. However, I did notice that the topmost level has a very steep incline. This feature is common in many stadiums today, as it allows them to position more seats closer to the field. Some may be okay with the steepness, but not me.
From a facilities perspective, this was the most enjoyable experience I have ever had at a Wildcat football game. I consider it something of a near miracle that we now have a stadium like this at Northwestern. Of course, I would like to see the prices for single game tickets come down to more reasonable levels -- but it is still the first year of a new stadium. Give it time... I would recommend any Northwestern fan to go and experience it at least once.
I recall that Northwestern also received permission to hold a certain number of concerts at the NRF. I am curious to see what bands and artists show up in Evanston. The stadium seems like a great venue for summer concerts.
PS: I did make an effort to look into tickets for the Iowa game. Unfortunately, I missed out on the pre-sale last week, which featured some lower pricing. When I checked the pricing today, it was clear that for this game, anything in the lower bowl is out of my price range. Alas...
-Astro
The security and ticket scanning facilities are located well outside of the stadium, which turns out to be great idea. It is as if the stadium itself is enclosed in a fenced off area, which also contains various stands and pop-up cafes offering food, drink, and even specialty coffees. This allows you go seamlessly in and out of the stadium during the game, and allows the stadium entrances to be wider and more inviting than if they had to do the ticket scanning there.
As for the ticket scanning itself, I had the TicketMaster app and the New Ryan Field app on my phone. I had already put the tickets into Google Wallet, and I was able to simply hold the phone near the reader to have them scanned. It was very similar to using tap-to-pay. If for some reason, that failed, I was prepared to display the ticket using the New Ryan Field app, but that was not necessary.
Regarding the ticket scanning, if one person in a group has all the tickets for several people on one phone, my advice is to have that person stand in place and do all the scanning one at a time, while the members of the group pass through the turnstile one at a time as it lights up to allow access. The person doing the scanning would then do himself (or herself) last. Note that you can't simply scan four tickets and then expect it will allow four people to enter. The scanning and entering has to be one one at a time.
So we then entered the secure area and I took a look at the stadium. The north entrance is very wide, and you can actually see all the way in to the inner bowl. Directly in the middle of this entrance is a full service bar, where they had draft beers and were also mixing drinks on demand. This was a most welcoming sight, and as we circumnavigated the lower level of the stadium, I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of other bars at various locations. Not only that, but many of the permanent food venues had well-stocked refrigerators with 16-oz cans of beer. Compared to the Old Ryan Field, the availability of alcohol is a wonderful improvement.
As we walked around the main level, you find two types of permanent food venues repeated multiple times. None of them seemed that crowded before the game, and traffic seemed to flow well. There were also a number of temporary stands representing restaurants, such as Hecky's and Mustard's.
Prices for food and drink are very high -- perhaps not as bad a pro stadium, but getting there. My first purchase was a hamburger and a beer (a 16-oz can of Sketchbook Amistosa). I then settled into my seat. The burger was meaty, but the bun was a bit dried out. However, the beer was great.
There are quite a few bathrooms around the lower level, although not so many that lines did not form during halftime (but even then, the wait was not that long).
The south entrance is also the student entrance. The Wildcat Statue is now located there, and it serves as a major photo-op for almost everyone coming in through that entrance.
As for the seat itself, it seems to be made of hard plastic and includes a full seatback and a cupholder. All seats in the lower level have a good view of the field. There are large video screens above the north and south endzones. The sound from the public address system was a little too loud, but we got used to it. Note that the field itself is at least 10 feet below ground level, so even in the lower bowl you are looking down.
There is a man who functions as a kind of master of ceremonies during the video segments of the pregame and halftime shows. He seems to hang out in front of the student section. He has a loud voice, wears a cowboy hat, and has a bit of a Texas swagger. He seemed an odd choice for Northwestern, but he did a fine job. I suspect his purpose is to loosen up the fans so they are ready to make noise during the game. As to whether he succeeded, the results were mixed -- at least for the Rutgers game.
The student section looked energetic, and they made a lot of noise, but it did not appear to be completely filled. In fact, there were empty seats in several parts of the lower level.
The entrance of the team onto the field was well done, and it involved music and video and pyrotechnics. During some (but not all) Wildcat touchdowns more serious fireworks were launched from the roof of the stadium.
I liked that at the top of our section (and many other sections), there is a drink rail where you can put your drink and your food while watching the game. I tried it out after getting a draft beer from the aforementioned bar. This is a nice feature because it allows you spend time talking with someone who does not happen to sit next to you. You can just stand there with your drink and chat and not miss any of the game.
I did not venture into the upper levels on this visit. I was very comfortable and happy where I was. However, I did notice that the topmost level has a very steep incline. This feature is common in many stadiums today, as it allows them to position more seats closer to the field. Some may be okay with the steepness, but not me.
From a facilities perspective, this was the most enjoyable experience I have ever had at a Wildcat football game. I consider it something of a near miracle that we now have a stadium like this at Northwestern. Of course, I would like to see the prices for single game tickets come down to more reasonable levels -- but it is still the first year of a new stadium. Give it time... I would recommend any Northwestern fan to go and experience it at least once.
I recall that Northwestern also received permission to hold a certain number of concerts at the NRF. I am curious to see what bands and artists show up in Evanston. The stadium seems like a great venue for summer concerts.
PS: I did make an effort to look into tickets for the Iowa game. Unfortunately, I missed out on the pre-sale last week, which featured some lower pricing. When I checked the pricing today, it was clear that for this game, anything in the lower bowl is out of my price range. Alas...
-Astro
