Ryan Field

Ryan Field is a stadium in Evanston, Illinois, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Northwestern University “Wildcats.” Ryan Field opened in 1926 and holds 49,256 people. The field is named after Patrick Ryan who was the chairman of the school’s board of trustees. Prior to 1997, the stadium was named Dyche Stadium, for William A. Dyche, Class of 1882, former Evanston mayor and overseer of the building project.

	Capacity		49,256
	Opened		1926
	Owner		Northwestern University
	Operator		Northwestern University
	Surface		Grass
	Location		1501 Central Street Evanston, IL 60208
	Construction cost		$20,000,000 USD (1996 works)

The stadium originally consisted of two semi-circular grandstands on either sideline, with the west (home) sideline having a small, curved upper deck ending at twin concrete. Endzone seating was later added in the south endzone, and in 1952 McGaw Memorial Hall was built in the north endzone.

Besides boasting modern amenities such as a new workout room, it is said that the reason the stands were built five feet up was to prevent Northwestern students from rushing the field and destroying goalposts. Such occurrences were common when the field was still known as Dyche Stadium and Northwestern had upset victories over storied programs such as the University of Michigan in 1995. However, a stunning upset in 1996 over Michigan did not prevent students from clinging to the goalposts.

The closest transit stations are Metra commuter railroad’s Central Street station and Chicago Transit Authority’s Central station on the Purple Line.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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The ACC.com – The Official website of the Atlantic Coast Conference
NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association website
Northwestern University
NUsports.com

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