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Wilmette residents Tuesday voiced concerns to their village board about a proposal to use nearby Northwestern University’s Ryan Field as a concert venue, if and when it is renovated.
The proposed $800 million rebuild of the 97-year-old football stadium has been a point of controversy for months in Evanston, where the stadium is located, with residents there expressing concerns of their own.
According to the university’s website devoted to the renovation, rebuildryanfield.com, Northwestern plans to ask for zoning approval to host up to 10 concerts a year at the stadium, saying seven football games isn’t enough to make the rebuild financially viable.
Wilmette residents hope the village board will take action against the proposed stadium renovation plan, saying concert noise and increased traffic from their southern neighbor would cause an increase in issues they already face during college football season.
Andrea Smeeton, who lives a block away from the stadium with her husband, a former Northwestern football player, said at the meeting there are nuisances linked with the plan that seem to be targeted at Wilmette. She cited the university’s plan to direct speakers north to appease nearby Evanston residents and suggested this would exceed Wilmette’s noise ordinance levels.
On Thursday, Wilmette village manager Michael Braiman said that would be true but added that the village’s hands are tied.
“(T)he Village of Wilmette has no jurisdiction over the matter as the venue is in Evanston,” Braiman said in an email. “That said, we hope Evanston officials will carefully consider the adverse impacts of the proposal and whether they should approve any concerts at Ryan Field. If concerts are approved, we certainly hope that proper sound limits and sound mitigations are put in place by the city as part of the approval process.”
Braiman assured residents the project is one of his top priorities. He told residents at the meeting he met with Evanston City Manager Luke Stowe, who said the city will be conducting its own noise and traffic study with a third-party firm.
Smeeton also opposes the university’s request to convert 5th Street (called Ashland Avenue in Evanston) into a northbound one-way street, saying the increased traffic and idling of larger trucks needed for concerts would cause a heavy burden to those living there.
“We did not move here to provide a thoroughfare for their entertainment dreams,” Smeeton said. “Please imagine you lived on our block in a home that you love. Imagine the quiet and quaint neighborhood you and your family chose to live in and put everything you had into it and suddenly someone comes along and wants to change the very nature of your neighborhood.”
Tracy Pintchman, who lives at the corner of Dupee Place and Isabella Street along the northern border of the Ryan Field complex, said she has been having issues with football fans for years.
“We are directly affected already by all of the traffic and all of the noise from the football games,” Pintchman said. “We knew when we moved in 20 years ago we would be subject to that. It has gotten worse over the years. We’ve had people ringing our doorbell after midnight. We’ve had people urinating and throwing trash in our yard. I can’t even imagine what our lives will be like if the proposed changes go through.”
If the village goes forward with any objections to Northwestern’s plan, they are expected to be discussed during the Aug. 8 village board meeting. Braiman asked residents to continue to reach out with concerns and ideas.
Representatives from Northwestern couldn’t be reached for comment.
Calls to halt the proposed rebuild of the stadium have grown following the suspension and firing of head football coach Pat Fitzgerald after allegations of hazing were brought forward last week. A group of Northwestern faculty members sent a letter to President Michael Schill, athletic director Derrick Gragg and board chair Peter Barris saying the rebuild should be put on hold while the school addresses the issue. The Northwestern Accountability Alliance, a community group from Evanston, called out the school for the hazing allegations and past racist and sexist conduct.
“What the response to the hazing makes clear are two things we’ve long known: Northwestern’s leadership has no credibility, and its priorities are badly distorted,” the statement said. “It is difficult to have faith in promises currently being made to the community, when promises to Northwestern’s own students have been so callously broken.”
The plan is tentatively expected to be brought to Evanston’s Land Use Commission in early August.
