The 2025 Northwestern football season may begin on Saturday, but 2026 is certainly on the minds of fans. With a little over a year remaining until the Wildcats are set to play their first-ever game inside the new Ryan Field in a Sept. 12 showing against South Dakota State, many questions remain about when construction will be completed and what the stadium will look like.
It’s well before most of Inside NU’s staff is scheduled to move in, so we haven’t been able to go on campus and see the construction
for ourselves. Still, we wanted to compile into one article a general overview — before the 2025 season kickoff — of all the information reported about the new Ryan Field since its groundbreaking on June 24, 2024.
What does it look like?
The Northwestern-created website, rebuildryanfield.com, has been providing construction updates of the stadium since February 2024, along with monthly newsletters. The latest update is from Aug. 21, which reports that masonry walls are being installed on the field and main concourse levels, while the stadium canopy roof continues to be installed.
A week before the most recent update, canopy installation began, while onsite sewer work from the south to the west side has also started. Underground electrical utility work spanning from the stadium’s west parking lot to Ashland Avenue commenced as well.
WildcatReport’s Matt Shelton took photos of Ryan Field on Aug. 17. In his photos, the canopy can be seen, while all but a few sections of seating have seemingly been installed.
Meanwhile, both the Chicago Sun-Times and Front Office Sports were given tours of the stadium in July. FOS published an Instagram video on Ryan Field, which gives us footage of its interior.
A similar interior video, posted by Northwestern chief revenue officer Jesse Marks, can be seen here.
Social media initiatives
The official Northwestern football account has been sharing content throughout Instagram and X from an account called @NewRyanField, which began posting on Aug. 13. This account has been sharing stadium renderings, most of which have been made public since 2024. That said, new renderings are also being released throughout the summer, such as the interior of these VIP suites posted on Aug. 20.
The Northwestern football account also posted photos of the stadium interior, similar to those from a photo gallery shared by the Sun-Times.
Logistical updates
The biggest significant logistical change in the stadium construction process is that the price tag for funding has increased by another $6 million, the second time the budget for the venue has grown. According to Front Office Sports, this jump from the initial $850 million budget (which already made it the most expensive stadium in college football) is due to the planned addition of new suites and a fourth alumni club on the sidelines. However, Ryan Sports Development CEO Pat Ryan Jr. told the media outlet that there would be no more budget increases.
The initial price tag for the stadium was set at $800 million. Northwestern revealed that it increased to $850 million in a November 2024 announcement.
In that same FOS report, Northwestern athletic director Mark Jackson was asked about a contingency plan in the case that Ryan Field was not done in time for next season’s kickoff. Jackson said that Martin Stadium — Northwestern’s current venue, modified for the 2024 and 2025 season — would still be available in the event of “unforeseen circumstances.”
But during Big Ten Media Day in July, Northwestern football head coach David Braun praised the new Ryan Field construction, even indicating that recruits in the high school class of 2026 would get to see it for themselves — a promising sign that construction is moving at an appropriate pace.
“It’s really exciting. And when you have an opportunity with Class of 2026 recruits to step into that venue and be down at field level and see it with your own eyes, the design, the development, the attention to detail that’s gone into this project, it’s amazing,” Braun said. “It will be the best venue in football.”
Ryan Jr., who also spoke to the Sun Times, views a successful construction effort as one where Ryan Field will serve as a model for others. However, if not successful, he still thinks the stadium — smaller than the typical Power conference and NFL stadium with no “true nosebleeds” — will be “one of a kind.”
Martin Stadium changes
While the new Ryan Field is being built, there is also progress with Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, the Wildcats’ temporary lakefront stadium for the 2024-25 season. Some new upgrades for 2025 include a new sound system, improved video quality and the student section moving to sections N1 and N2 — a spot closer to the players’ tunnel than the student section was in 2024.
Other changes include earlier “gates open” times, an expanded menu of concession offerings and a new multi-level bar.
Aside from Northwestern football and soccer, Martin Stadium is slated to host a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) match between the local Chicago Stars FC and the Orlando Pride. That match will happen on Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. Central Standard Time.
The Stars are also slated to host 16 matches inside Martin Stadium in the spring of 2026, a move approved by Evanston officials in May.
However, the NWSL match won’t be the first time pro sports have been played on the NU campus — in July, Martin Stadium also hosted four Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) matches. The stadium, which will be the venue of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Final Four, received widespread praise from professional lacrosse players and media members alike.
