EVANSTON, Ill. - It was a busy day on the lakefront as Northwestern football announced a new naming rights sponsorship, hosted a guided media tour of their temporary stadium and had players and coaches available to address the media after practice.
The temporary stadium's new and official moniker is now Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Assistant Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director Jesse Marks gave a guided tour of the nearly complete site to attending media, detailing it's features and capacity.
"We're at 12 [thousand]-plus [capacity] right now with the ability to go up to 15," he said. "We could add more on the corners, standing room-only, but right now we are staying where we are, around 12-plus, until we figure out more about how this will operate."
It's been impressive to see the stadium, which previously hosted Northwestern's soccer and occasionally lacrosse teams, morph in a matter of months to a facility ready to host NCAA and Big Ten football games.
Just in the last three days, football lines have been added to the field, and the team practiced on it on Monday morning. Scaffolds rise between the east stands as preparations continue for two, 22-by-38-foot video boards will be installed. End zones and sponsorships are still to come.
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MORE ON THE TEMPORARY LAKEFRONT STADIUM:
New temporary stadium promises 'great experience on the lakefront' l How Northwestern's lakefront stadium went from a dream to reality l Braun 'really proud of university leadership' for lakefront stadium l Northwestern to build temporary lakefront stadium for 2024-25 seasons
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Also continuing to grow are the north stands, which Marks said will have 62 rows when complete.
The space behind the south stands, or the remaining 40 or so yards of Hutcheson Field, has been covered with a temporary deck where there will be concessions, a beer garden and bathrooms.
Marks made comparisons to a concert-type setting. After all, builder InProduction is the same company that puts together pop-up sadiums for events like Lollapalooza and Coachella. Marks even said that he contacted Dillo Day organizers about what has made their concert on the campus lakefill so successful.
With increased luxury seating, nearly 400 more seats in suites or premium-style locations, Marks thinks that Northwestern could generate more revenue from its temporary stadium in 2024 than it did during the 2023 season, when, after a hazing scandal and the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats averaged a paltry 23,257 fans per game, according to HailToPurple.com. Marks made it clear, however, that, a sold-out Ryan Field, with its 47,000-plus capacity, would out earn the temporary site by far.
Marks and interim senior deputy athletic director Pat Goss lauded university president Michael Schill for his commitment and responsiveness to the project, saying the stadium would not have happened without him.
But he would not disclose what percentage of the funds came from existing university or athletic department coffers, and how much had to be additionally fundraised.
"It's been a complete effort and it's come from everywhere," Marks said. "It's come from on campus, from athletic revenues, and we have very generous supporters, led by a gift from [head coach David] Braun and his wife, Kristin.
"As you can imagine, it's been a costly project but one that our community rallied behind."
At a time when Northwestern has many other serious capital commitments underway for its athletic department -- like a new $800 million football stadium and a new softball stadium -- Goss echoed that it took a collaborative effort to make this complex a possibility on such short notice.
Marks declined to share the project's budget and does not think that the university will at a future date.
More to come from the availability from WildcatReport.
