Northwestern to spend $800m on new football stadium
Going from 47,000 seats to 35,000. Already halfway there in the fundraising.
September 29th, 2022 at 3:18 PM ^
Northwestern's football problem is not money (they have tons of it), it's academic requirements.
My son goes there and he sees the football players in actual classes. Hard classes like Engineering classes. It ain't Ohio State, you go there to play school.
So they are at least applying the resource they do have - money - to the football problem. Their practice facility right on the lake is sweet too.
September 29th, 2022 at 4:19 PM ^
I love it--design looks great and intimate. Honestly, I think a lot of stadiums should be made to be smaller to improve sight lines, add density, etc. College football attendance is going down; not up. They have a $15B endowment and some rich alums that will happily make sure they have a marquee property on campus.
September 30th, 2022 at 9:14 AM ^
I think the renderings look fantastic and applaud any school spending their B1G dough this way. Minnesota spent $300mm on their new stadium that opened in 2009 and it seems like a bargain. Illinois and Maryland should consider doing something similar.
Construction and financing costs are high right now but a new stadium or facilities can help change a program's culture, create buzz, bring in alumni/donations, and reflect more contemporary usefulness and gesamtkunstwerk.