The new Ryan Field in Evanston is now slated to open in October, which is not in time for the fall kickoff to the 2026 football season.
The stadium is an $862 million privately funded gift to the university with tens of millions of dollars on top going to the city of Evanston. The Ryan family says this was the schedule they always imagined.
Cold and rainy weather through the fall and winter have slowed construction by about five weeks. Still, the 35,000-seat stadium has risen up as a colossus on Central Street in Evanston but is actually smaller and shorter than the century-old facility it is replacing.
The Ryan family is donating the field to insurance pioneer Pat Ryan's alma mater.
Pat Ryan Jr. with RyanSports Development says after a lot of community consultation, people are going to love the project. But like all things that represent change, that might take a little while.
"Sometimes, when a new project comes and it's different, some people can start to catastrophize things and imagine something worse. And I think, we announce where to do a holiday festival there Christmastime, we're going to do it, Halloween and autumn festival, and I think people really, those things. You know, I think, there's a lot of excitement about the fact that we're going to be a good neighbor. We're going to keep our promises," Ryan said.
The first game under the new lights will take place on Friday, Oct. 2 vs. Penn State.