Won't happen, but I'm sure St. Louis is probably available for some football games.

(01-26-2024 09:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 08:13 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:37 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:16 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Maybe play a game in South Bend

You really think Notre Dame is just going to let Northwestern borrow their stadium? I guess everyone has their price and Northwestern is loaded but they tend to be cheap when it comes to sports and football.

Honestly, using Notre Dame Stadium isn’t that crazy compared to some other options.

On your last point, though, Northwestern is NOT cheap at ALL when it comes to sports. That is living in the past. This new football stadium is going to cost $800 million, Welsh-Ryan Arena’s interior was gutted and rebuilt, and their athletic training center on Lake Michigan is a palace that might be the nicest one in the country. As an Illinois fan, it pains me to say that Northwestern is absolutely crushing us on athletic facilities investments right now.

The other issue with using Notre Dame Stadium is the words "Notre Dame". Does Notre Dame even rent their stadium for other events other than Notre Dame football? They kind of strike me as NIMBYs wanting to keep other events off and they'd be the kind of school that wouldn't even cater to money, they'd say no out of principle.

Notre Dame's affinity to Chicago and the people of Chicago-land could cut through that red tape. Fans would watch and attend just because it's at ND. Concessions and ticket revenue would make it worth opening the doors.

Surprised that there wasn't an announced plan before shovels went into the ground and construction began. Soldier Field makes the most sense, but if there are already dates (or weekends, since field maintenance would pose a problem) that are unavailable, that is unfortunate. SeatGeek is far from ideal, as it is on the opposite side of the city of Evanston.

No way Wrigley is an option, as they are in-season and converting the stadium to football took weeks in the offseason took to complete.

I think you try and take any and all of the availability from Soldier Field (even play some Thursday or Wednesday games, if necessary), and move the remaining home games to road games.

(01-26-2024 10:06 AM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  If they ask very nicely they can come play at my house

Not knowing anything about your house, I presume this is an upgrade for at the very least us. I look forward to a thread saying "UMass is homeless, but playing at Matt Brown's house"


But really, congrats to the progress being made here for them. This will hopefully work out fantastic in the long run.

(01-26-2024 11:01 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Surprised that there wasn't an announced plan before shovels went into the ground and construction began. Soldier Field makes the most sense, but if there are already dates (or weekends, since field maintenance would pose a problem) that are unavailable, that is unfortunate. SeatGeek is far from ideal, as it is on the opposite side of the city of Evanston.

No way Wrigley is an option, as they are in-season and converting the stadium to football took weeks in the offseason took to complete.

I think you try and take any and all of the availability from Soldier Field (even play some Thursday or Wednesday games, if necessary), and move the remaining home games to road games.

That’s why I think the schedule ought to be bifurcated: September and October games at Soldier Field where possible and then November games at Wrigley Field (which is definitely doable). I agree that SeatGeek Stadium just doesn’t work realistically. However, there is less than zero chance that their home games will be turned into road games. I think Northwestern would play those games on a local high school field before making those road games. That’s a non-starter.

(01-26-2024 10:45 AM)SeaBlue Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 09:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 08:13 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:37 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:16 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Maybe play a game in South Bend

You really think Notre Dame is just going to let Northwestern borrow their stadium? I guess everyone has their price and Northwestern is loaded but they tend to be cheap when it comes to sports and football.

Honestly, using Notre Dame Stadium isn’t that crazy compared to some other options.

On your last point, though, Northwestern is NOT cheap at ALL when it comes to sports. That is living in the past. This new football stadium is going to cost $800 million, Welsh-Ryan Arena’s interior was gutted and rebuilt, and their athletic training center on Lake Michigan is a palace that might be the nicest one in the country. As an Illinois fan, it pains me to say that Northwestern is absolutely crushing us on athletic facilities investments right now.

The other issue with using Notre Dame Stadium is the words "Notre Dame". Does Notre Dame even rent their stadium for other events other than Notre Dame football? They kind of strike me as NIMBYs wanting to keep other events off and they'd be the kind of school that wouldn't even cater to money, they'd say no out of principle.

Notre Dame's affinity to Chicago and the people of Chicago-land could cut through that red tape. Fans would watch and attend just because it's at ND. Concessions and ticket revenue would make it worth opening the doors.

Notre Dame Stadium had the 2019 NHL Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Bruins along with concerts (e.g. Billy Joel and Garth Brooks), so the school has been willing to rent it out for other events as a general matter. Whether they’d be willing to rent it to Northwestern is a separate question.

(01-26-2024 10:45 AM)SeaBlue Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 09:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 08:13 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:37 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:16 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Maybe play a game in South Bend

You really think Notre Dame is just going to let Northwestern borrow their stadium? I guess everyone has their price and Northwestern is loaded but they tend to be cheap when it comes to sports and football.

Honestly, using Notre Dame Stadium isn’t that crazy compared to some other options.

On your last point, though, Northwestern is NOT cheap at ALL when it comes to sports. That is living in the past. This new football stadium is going to cost $800 million, Welsh-Ryan Arena’s interior was gutted and rebuilt, and their athletic training center on Lake Michigan is a palace that might be the nicest one in the country. As an Illinois fan, it pains me to say that Northwestern is absolutely crushing us on athletic facilities investments right now.

The other issue with using Notre Dame Stadium is the words "Notre Dame". Does Notre Dame even rent their stadium for other events other than Notre Dame football? They kind of strike me as NIMBYs wanting to keep other events off and they'd be the kind of school that wouldn't even cater to money, they'd say no out of principle.

Notre Dame's affinity to Chicago and the people of Chicago-land could cut through that red tape. Fans would watch and attend just because it's at ND. Concessions and ticket revenue would make it worth opening the doors.

I mean, Northwestern participated in the Western Conference boycott of Notre Dame that started in 1910 or 1911. But if they could "discover" evidence that their coach included some Notre Dame players on his All-Western ballot in 1909, when Yost left all of them off?

At least October 19th is against Wisconsin, not against TTUN (as Northwestern plays at the Big House this coming season).

(01-26-2024 11:22 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 10:45 AM)SeaBlue Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 09:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 08:13 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-25-2024 11:37 PM)schmolik Wrote:  You really think Notre Dame is just going to let Northwestern borrow their stadium? I guess everyone has their price and Northwestern is loaded but they tend to be cheap when it comes to sports and football.

Honestly, using Notre Dame Stadium isn’t that crazy compared to some other options.

On your last point, though, Northwestern is NOT cheap at ALL when it comes to sports. That is living in the past. This new football stadium is going to cost $800 million, Welsh-Ryan Arena’s interior was gutted and rebuilt, and their athletic training center on Lake Michigan is a palace that might be the nicest one in the country. As an Illinois fan, it pains me to say that Northwestern is absolutely crushing us on athletic facilities investments right now.

The other issue with using Notre Dame Stadium is the words "Notre Dame". Does Notre Dame even rent their stadium for other events other than Notre Dame football? They kind of strike me as NIMBYs wanting to keep other events off and they'd be the kind of school that wouldn't even cater to money, they'd say no out of principle.

Notre Dame's affinity to Chicago and the people of Chicago-land could cut through that red tape. Fans would watch and attend just because it's at ND. Concessions and ticket revenue would make it worth opening the doors.

Notre Dame Stadium had the 2019 NHL Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Bruins along with concerts (e.g. Billy Joel and Garth Brooks), so the school has been willing to rent it out for other events as a general matter. Whether they’d be willing to rent it to Northwestern is a separate question.

According to Wikipedia, "The stadium had never hosted a music concert until 2018, with Garth Brooks being the first artist to hold a concert to be held at the stadium."

They only list three concerts playing in Notre Dame Stadium along with two NHL games, two Canada vs. US rugby games, and an international soccer game. The only event shown during football season was Garth Brooks October 20, 2018. I'd imagine a concert wouldn't do as much damage to a football stadium as a football or soccer game would. Anything that can potentially hurt the field for Notre Dame football during football season IMO wouldn't be worth it. I'm actually surprised Garth got to play there in the middle of football season.

(01-26-2024 11:28 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  I mean, Northwestern participated in the Western Conference boycott of Notre Dame that started in 1910 or 1911.

Believe it's reason No. 47 on TerryD's curated list on why the Irish shan't join the B1G

(01-26-2024 11:41 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 11:22 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 10:45 AM)SeaBlue Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 09:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 08:13 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Honestly, using Notre Dame Stadium isn’t that crazy compared to some other options.

On your last point, though, Northwestern is NOT cheap at ALL when it comes to sports. That is living in the past. This new football stadium is going to cost $800 million, Welsh-Ryan Arena’s interior was gutted and rebuilt, and their athletic training center on Lake Michigan is a palace that might be the nicest one in the country. As an Illinois fan, it pains me to say that Northwestern is absolutely crushing us on athletic facilities investments right now.

The other issue with using Notre Dame Stadium is the words "Notre Dame". Does Notre Dame even rent their stadium for other events other than Notre Dame football? They kind of strike me as NIMBYs wanting to keep other events off and they'd be the kind of school that wouldn't even cater to money, they'd say no out of principle.

Notre Dame's affinity to Chicago and the people of Chicago-land could cut through that red tape. Fans would watch and attend just because it's at ND. Concessions and ticket revenue would make it worth opening the doors.

Notre Dame Stadium had the 2019 NHL Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Bruins along with concerts (e.g. Billy Joel and Garth Brooks), so the school has been willing to rent it out for other events as a general matter. Whether they’d be willing to rent it to Northwestern is a separate question.

According to Wikipedia, "The stadium had never hosted a music concert until 2018, with Garth Brooks being the first artist to hold a concert to be held at the stadium."

They only list three concerts playing in Notre Dame Stadium along with two NHL games, two Canada vs. US rugby games, and an international soccer game. The only event shown during football season was Garth Brooks October 20, 2018. I'd imagine a concert wouldn't do as much damage to a football stadium as a football or soccer game would. Anything that can potentially hurt the field for Notre Dame football during football season IMO wouldn't be worth it. I'm actually surprised Garth got to play there in the middle of football season.

A concert is WAAAAAAAAY worse for a field compared to simply playing another football game or a soccer game, so I don’t think that’s the issue. ND likes the color green more than just with their jerseys - it’s not an accident that ND Stadium started being rented out for other events over the past 5 years. Now, ND may very well not rent it to Northwestern because of an overall principle and/or the additional money isn’t worth it, but if they’re allowing a Garth Brooks concert in the middle of season, it shows that it’s not about protecting the field (as like I’ve said, a concert is pretty destructive to turf).

I see Northwestern playing the OOC games at SeatGeek. Only 15k are going through the turnstiles for an off campus OOC game anyway.

The thought of a Big Ten game in the middle of warehouses in Bridgeview is insane though.

Hey! Here's an idea! Get someone credible like Matt Brown to just simply ask Northwestern officials.

Does anyone here honestly believe NU lifted Shovel 1 without a plan where to play games during construction? I mean, speculation is fun but let's get real here.

(01-26-2024 01:35 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  Hey! Here's an idea! Get someone credible like Matt Brown to just simply ask Northwestern officials.

Does anyone here honestly believe NU lifted Shovel 1 without a plan where to play games during construction? I mean, speculation is fun but let's get real here.

::

You are right on both counts

They could play here as well:


since Saturdays are open.

(01-25-2024 08:08 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Northwestern has begun demolition on the old Ryan Field. The new Ryan Field will not open until 2026. Where will Northwestern play in 2024?

The 8/31 game against Miami (OH), the 9/14 game against Eastern Illinois, and 10/5 game against Indiana should be at SeatGeek, the Red Stars are away those weekends. The 11/16 and 11/30 games should be at Soldier Field, those are against Ohio State and Illinois. The problem is the 10/19 game against Wisconsin, as both the Fire (Soldier Field) and Red Stars (SeatGeek) have a home games that day. I wonder if they could get the Red Stars to move to Solider Field for that day as part of a double header, or play either the day before or day after the Fire.

Wrigley Field could also be an option, as it is closer to NU's campus, but you have to work around the Cubs' schedule. The 8/31 and 9/14 games could work there. October and even the first week of November fall during baseball's postseason, which leaves the 11/16 and 11/30 games as options for Wrigley. Maybe you even work out an agreement with both the Cubs and White Sox for them to share one stadium the weekend of 10/19 if both are still playing that far into the postseason.

Kansas is facing a similar situation: One side of Memorial Stadium has been torn down since the end of the 2023 season. The rebuild is to be done in two phases, and there is a question as to where home games ought best to be played. The options of using an MSL stadium or, possibly, Arrowhead Stadium were being discussed by fans. Seating capacity during phase 1 would be 20K or so. The latest we have heard from the Chancellor is that four games might be played at Arrowhead, with two being played at the current site at reduced seating; ostensibly, those would be OOC games that would not draw full capacity. Phog has a thread going, and cameras are online so that fans can watch the work as it is being done.


ETA: Even though the owner of the MLS franchise is a KU alum and BMD, there seems to be little to no likelihood that the games would be played at Sporting KC's Children's Mercy Park. The original plan was to play all home games at Memorial with partial seating capacity.

(01-26-2024 03:58 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 01:35 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  Hey! Here's an idea! Get someone credible like Matt Brown to just simply ask Northwestern officials.

Does anyone here honestly believe NU lifted Shovel 1 without a plan where to play games during construction? I mean, speculation is fun but let's get real here.

::

You are right on both counts

They could play here as well:


since Saturdays are open.

It's not like the fannies of Huskies fans are wearing out all those seats. It would be good to see that stadium filled up for a change.

(01-26-2024 04:25 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 03:58 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(01-26-2024 01:35 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  Hey! Here's an idea! Get someone credible like Matt Brown to just simply ask Northwestern officials.

Does anyone here honestly believe NU lifted Shovel 1 without a plan where to play games during construction? I mean, speculation is fun but let's get real here.

::

You are right on both counts

They could play here as well:


since Saturdays are open.

It's not like the fannies of Huskies fans are wearing out all those seats. It would be good to see that stadium filled up for a change.

By Northwestern fans?

This seems like a no-brainer to me.

Play all home games at Soldier field. So what if there are only 15k fans for Non-conference games. That's better than jumping around to different sub-standard stadiums. Soldier Field is designed for football games with large crowds. Conflicts can be worked out. NW can play a game on Friday night if needed.

But I will agree there is something off about this story. I would have assumed there would have been at least 2 years of planning involved before construction started. Also no NW officials were quoted in the story. Are we sure this is for real?

(01-26-2024 11:01 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Surprised that there wasn't an announced plan before shovels went into the ground and construction began. Soldier Field makes the most sense, but if there are already dates (or weekends, since field maintenance would pose a problem) that are unavailable, that is unfortunate. SeatGeek is far from ideal, as it is on the opposite side of the city of Evanston.

No way Wrigley is an option, as they are in-season and converting the stadium to football took weeks in the offseason took to complete.

I think you try and take any and all of the availability from Soldier Field (even play some Thursday or Wednesday games, if necessary), and move the remaining home games to road games.

Northwestern's AD just seems to fumble everything, doesn't he? Well, everything except covering his behind when things go sideways.

Northwestern has a branch or affiliate in Qatar. One of the World Cup stadiums was Stadium 974, so named because it was built from 974 shipping containers and 974 is the dialing code for Qatar.

It was designed to be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere (possibly for the 2030 World Cup in Montevideo). Why not reassemble in Evanston? With a modest redesign it could become Stadium 847.

(01-26-2024 06:17 PM)jimrtex Wrote:  Northwestern has a branch or affiliate in Qatar. One of the World Cup stadiums was Stadium 974, so named because it was built from 974 shipping containers and 974 is the dialing code for Qatar.

It was designed to be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere (possibly for the 2030 World Cup in Montevideo). Why not reassemble in Evanston? With a modest redesign it could become Stadium 847.

Why not play the season in Qatar?