Northwestern opens new Ryan Field with fireworks, singing and a convincing win over Penn State

EVANSTON, Ill. — As Eva Liu and Angie Lee took in the new Ryan Field on Friday, there was one thing in particular that stood out to the pair of Northwestern juniors.

The new home of the football team is unmistakably, unabashedly connected to their school.

“It’s a lot of purple,” said Liu, a double major in neuroscience and film from Vancouver, British Columbia. “It really brings the school spirit immediately because I’ve been to stadiums for concerts and stuff, but no stadium really hits like this. It’s the school color and it’s very impactful when you see it because it’s really themed around Northwestern.”

The new Ryan Field made its long-awaited debut with a light show, fireworks and a dominant performance by Northwestern in a 34-13 win over Penn State. The party included a stadium-wide rendition of Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'” ahead of the fourth quarter, led by Northwestern's national champion women's lacrosse team.

Aidan Chiles scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard carry with 5:07 left in the first quarter, lifting Northwestern to a 10-0 lead. The Wildcats rolled to 413 yards rushing before punctuating the victory with high-fives with the student section on their way off the field.

“This is something that dreams are made of, a night like tonight,” Northwestern coach David Braun said.

The $875 million facility — billed as college football's most expensive stadium — was built on the same site as the former Ryan Field. It seats 35,000, down more than 12,000 from the school’s previous home. It’s the smallest stadium by capacity in the Big Ten.

The first game was played on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the original Northwestern Stadium.

“I think it’s really grand,” said Lee, a chemical engineering major from Taiwan. “It’s great to see that people are really hyped about the stadium, especially because I knew there was a lot of criticism from my friends with how much money was spent on the stadium. But now that I’m here, I was like, OK, it is kind of worth it to get the college experience, especially coming internationally.”

Alumni Shirley and Pat Ryan and family made a $480 million gift to help fund the stadium and other projects. There is a Pat Ryan statue in a concourse on the way into the facility, and Northwestern paid tribute to the Ryan family before the game.

“We have redefined how we do football on Saturdays in Evanston, and it’s a credit to a lot of people, but it all starts with the Ryan family,” Braun said.

The stadium features a canopy designed to keep noise and light focused on the field and includes cutting-edge technology and scoreboards, as well as concessions with food from local restaurants.

It’s a major change for Northwestern after it played its home games for the past two-plus years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The university broke ground on the new Ryan Field in June 2024.

“It seems a lot bigger than the old one, even though it’s less seating and it’s loud. It’s loud, yes,” said McKenna Bentley, 28, of Bloomingdale. “Which I think is, Northwestern fans aren’t used to that previously, so I love that. I think the dome makes it seem very loud.”

McKenna and her brother, Luke, 25, of Napervillle, soaked in their surroundings from their seats before the game. Their father, Brendan, played for Northwestern, but he wasn't able to attend the Ryan Field debut because of his duties as an assistant coach for a high school team.

“He’s always said he was one of the last bums out the door before they started becoming a more competitive program,” Luke Bentley said. “This is something that like he’s been stoked for because like to see the program where it’s at now compared to where it was back then is unbelievable.”