As Eva Liu and Angie Lee took in the new Ryan Field on Friday, there was one thing in particular that stood out to the pair of Northwestern juniors.
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that → take → juniors
“It’s a lot of purple,” said Liu, a double major in neuroscience and film from Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Liu → ’ → Vancouver
“It really brings the school spirit immediately because I’ve been to stadiums for concerts and stuff, but no stadium really hits like this.
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stadium → bring → this
It’s the school color and it’s very impactful when you see it because it’s really themed around Northwestern.”
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it → ’ → Northwestern
The new Ryan Field made its long-awaited debut with a light show, fireworks and a dominant performance by Northwestern in a 34-13 win over Penn State.
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Field → make → State
The party included a stadium-wide rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” ahead of the fourth quarter, led by Northwestern’s national champion women’s lacrosse team.
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party → include → team
Aidan Chiles scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard carry with 5:07 left in the first quarter, lifting Northwestern to a 10-0 lead.
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Chiles → score → lead
The Wildcats rolled to 413 yards rushing before punctuating the victory with high-fives with the student section on their way off the field.
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Wildcats → roll → field
“This is something that dreams are made of, a night like tonight,” Northwestern coach David Braun said.
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Braun → make → tonight
The $875 million facility — billed as college football’s most expensive stadium — was built on the same site as the former Ryan Field.
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facility → bill → Field
It seats 35,000, down more than 12,000 from the school’s previous home.
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It → seat → home
It’s the smallest stadium by capacity in the Big Ten.
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It → ’ → Ten
The first game was played on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the original Northwestern Stadium.
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game → play → Stadium
“I think it’s really grand,” said Lee, a chemical engineering major from Taiwan.
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Lee → think → Taiwan
“It’s great to see that people are really hyped about the stadium, especially because I knew there was a lot of criticism from my friends with how much money was spent on the stadium.
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money → ’ → stadium
But now that I’m here, I was like, OK, it is kind of worth it to get the college experience, especially coming internationally.”
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it → ’m → experience
Alumni Shirley and Pat Ryan and family made a $480 million gift to help fund the stadium and other projects.
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Ryan → make → stadium
There is a Pat Ryan statue in a concourse on the way into the facility, and Northwestern paid tribute to the Ryan family before the game.
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Northwestern → be → game
“We have redefined how we do football on Saturdays in Evanston, and it’s a credit to a lot of people, but it all starts with the Ryan family,” Braun said.
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Braun → redefine → family
The stadium features a canopy designed to keep noise and light focused on the field and includes cutting-edge technology and scoreboards, as well as concessions with food from local restaurants.
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noise → feature → restaurants
It’s a major change for Northwestern after it played its home games for the past two-plus years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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it → ’ → Chicago
The university broke ground on the new Ryan Field in June 2024.
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university → break → June
“It seems a lot bigger than the old one, even though it’s less seating and it’s loud.
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it → seem → one
It’s loud, yes,” said McKenna Bentley, 28, of Bloomingdale.
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Bentley → ’ → Bloomingdale
“Which I think is, Northwestern fans aren’t used to that previously, so I love that.
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I → think → that
I think the dome makes it seem very loud.”
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it → think → ?
McKenna and her brother, Luke, 25, of Napervillle, soaked in their surroundings from their seats before the game.
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McKenna → soak → game
Their father, Brendan, played for Northwestern, but he wasn’t able to attend the Ryan Field debut because of his duties as an assistant coach for a high school team.
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he → play → team
“He’s always said he was one of the last bums out the door before they started becoming a more competitive program,” Luke Bentley said.
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Bentley → say → door
“This is something that like he’s been stoked for because like to see the program where it’s at now compared to where it was back then is unbelievable.”
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it → stoke → program
The Aporia
