Northwestern hosts community outreach session for $800M football stadium rebuild

Northwestern University’s ambitious plans to build a new $800 million football stadium in Evanston moved another step closer to reality recently when the university announced it has selected two construction companies to oversee the project.

“I feel like the design is something that is elegant. It’s beautiful,” Dave D. Davis, senior executive director of neighborhood and community relations with Northwestern said during an April 5 community outreach session in Welsh Ryan Arena on Northwestern’s Evanston campus.

“It’s state-of-the-art and hands down will be the best collegiate football stadium in the nation,” he added.

During the April 5 session, Northwestern said it signed a partnership with New York-based Turner Construction and Chicago-based Walsh Construction (Turner-Walsh) as construction managers for the redevelopment of Ryan Field.

But the project is not without controversy. Some residents living near Ryan Field, in the 1500 block of Central Street in the north suburb, said they are worried about plans the university has to hold concerts and other events in the new stadium.

“I don’t like the ‘commercialization’ aspect,” said Joe Hill, who has lived a block and a half from Ryan Field for decades. He was at the April 5 session and said the university is basically trying to build “a non-taxed entertainment district” close to his home.

“It will be breaking zoning, so zoning will mean nothing anymore,” he said.

“We’ll have issues with people wondering through the neighborhood,” added Marge Anderson, who has lived in the areas for more than 20 years.

“We’ll have large loud crowds with concerts,” she said. “We already put up with the trashing of our neighborhood during football games.”

She also said neighbors have started an online petition to slow the project down until they get guarantees from the university of exactly what the university has planned for the new stadium.

“They have the lawyers,” Anderson said. “They have the influence. There’s no goodwill. No transparency. I would hope not, but quite a bit of me says it’s a done deal.”

The university can build the new 35,000 seat stadium by right without zoning variances, but it’s seeking zoning relief from the city to hold at least 10 concerts a year in the new stadium, an unlimited number of events for up to 10,000 people and to sell alcohol during those events. The existing Ryan Stadium, built in 1926, is used primarily for Northwestern University football games only.

The new roofless facility would have about 12,000 fewer seats than the current stadium, and would be encircled by outdoor plazas and green space, university officials said. They also say the $800 million project is the largest in Northwestern’s history and the university needs to hold concerts and other events to “ensure the financial viability of the new stadium.”

Community Alliance for Better Government, a local organization dedicated to holding Evanston government accountable, hosted a town hall meeting in February to discuss the creation of a community benefits agreement with Northwestern in exchange for the zoning changes it’s seeking. Officials with CABG warned that giving zoning relief to the university without seeking something in return could set a dangerous precedent and lead to other significant zoning changes in the city.

Northwestern plans to submit its Planned Development Application to the city later this month, with hearings at the Land Use Commission and City Council over the coming months, officials said. They also said the stadium project has targeted 35% of its total subcontracted spending to be local, minority-owned and woman-owned businesses, with priority given to businesses and individuals located in Evanston.

If everything goes according to plan, construction will begin at the end of this year or early next year and the new stadium could be opened in time for the 2026 football season, university officials during the April 5 session.

Many of the 60 people at the April 5 session were contractors and sub contractors there to learn more about the bidding process.

“The community to me is really important, wherever we build, because every community has a heartbeat,” Pamyla Fountain-Brown, senior director with Turner Construction told them.

“We are a force,” she added. “We are strong and mighty and we are willing, able and ready to roll up our sleeves and help local Evanstonian businesses and individuals really get connected in the right way.”

Last year Northwestern commissioned an economic impact report showing how construction of the new stadium will benefit the city. According to the study it would create almost 3,000 jobs during construction, more than $11 million in fees to the city and have an overall economic impact of $65 million a year by 2031.

“I think it’s an absolute gift to Evanston,” said Kelly Marcelle, who co-owns a nearby business and is a member of Field Of Opportunities, a pro stadium grassroots movement.

“It’s not taxpayer funded which is a big thing here,” she noted. “To have the benefit of being able to walk to concerts sometimes or events is going to be amazing for us. The businesses need it.”

Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.