First Look: Northwestern's Ryan Field

Paul Kapustka

Paul Kapustka

— 2 min read
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First Look: Northwestern's Ryan Field
Fireworks highlight the pregame ceremonies at the inaugural football game at Northwestern's Ryan Field. Credit all photos: Lisa Farrell and Ryan Farrell

We're over a month into the 2026 college football season but for Northwestern University friends, fans and team members the season really started last Friday, when the Wildcats opened their brand-new stadium, the 35,000-seat Ryan Field, with an upset victory over Penn State.

In the collegiate sports stadium world (and likely in the pro venue world as well) the launch of the $875 million venue has been highly anticipated. On TV, the stadium's debut looked great, with a first-class lighting show and fireworks to go along with the great sightlines. Other amenities like world-class Chicago-area food won instant raves.

On the ground, Stadium IT Forum had its Chicago "field scout" team of Lisa Farrell and Ryan Farrell, who took some first-look snapshots of the overall stadium and some of its technical components. Enjoy the views and watch for more Ryan Field coverage as the season progresses!

The wide main entrance was backed by an open-air bar.
Walk-through security scanners from Evolv made for a fast entry flow.
Ticket turnstiles from Fortress supported QR scans or NFC taps.
The belly-up bars had some easy-to-use payment devices from Shift4.
Some Ryan Field concession stands feature the second-generation kiosks from Mashgin for camera-powered self-checkout.
Antennas from JMA Wireless are part of the stadium's neutral-host distributed antenna system (DAS).
The individual chair-back seats offered plenty of leg room.
Close-to-the-field seating made for great sightlines all around.

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