Like other Evanston residents who attended the first hearing for Northwestern University’s bid to rezone the Ryan Field area for its for-profit commercial interests, I was completely shocked by the university team’s blatant disregard for community concerns, such as noise, traffic flow and a complete transformation of the neighborhood. It is insane to compare the cramped single-lane streets and small suburban area around Ryan Field to the types of areas that NU project organizers spoke about Wednesday night, such as the McCormick Center, the United Center or Ravinia. Our area has a much smaller footprint and is far more residential.
When I left Brooklyn, New York, and moved to north Evanston, I dreamed of a quieter way of life. I saw how the construction of the Barclays Center, a 19,000-capacity stadium in the once tranquil neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, impacted that community. Where there was once rows of small apartment buildings for a diverse group of residents, there are now mall stores, chain restaurants and traffic jams. I can’t even fathom the massive social and environmental impact of the commercial events that Northwestern is planning to sustain its new stadium project.
There may be a few supporters for the new Ryan Field project in Evanston, but judging from the crowds of people Wednesday night packed into the City Council meeting with anti-NU signs, there are far more people who are strongly against it. Why work so hard to go against the community’s interests for their own commercial gain? For a lot of us in the room that night, it seemed like it was simply greed. When one of the NU project speakers mistakenly called our city “Evansville,” it became very clear where their interests lie, and it’s not with the people of Evanston.
Anthony Kaufman
Ryan field(Dyke stadium) has been there longer than any of the residence who live near it. To compare it to the field built in Brooklyn is apples and oranges.
Look at Wrigley field. Surrounded be small one way streets, no parking and yet the world didn’t come to an end when night games and special events started playing there. Some may say the change led to a World Series championship. As a matter of fact the parking at Ryan field is much better.
The windfall in tax revenues for Evanston would be significant. I say stop complaining and look at all the advantages to the changes rather than these insignificant and quite frankly unproven complaints that are being pursued. The property values around the stadium have not deflated even when the football program was putting large crowds in the Ryan field while the program expirenced incredible success. Quite the opposite. Home values went up at a higher rates in this area than in other parts of Evanston.
Everything is a protest today. Let NU pursue this agenda and if it becomes this fictitious problem, then change the law. America is beautiful this way.
Wrigley Field was not rebuilt to accommodate lighting for night games, and to have occasional concerts. Clark Street, bordering the park on the west, is a legacy (two-way traffic, albeit cramped) arterial which has long been lined with buildings hosting varied uses. Parking is so scarce nearby that the Cubs have some satellite parking lots with shuttle service for games; and also encourage fans to use mass transit, especially CTA’s Red Line, almost next door to the east.
Thank you, Anthony, for sharing your personal experience of what happened to Fort Greene, Brooklyn when a stadium was constructed there.
yes, thank-you Anthony. I hope you’ll have a chance to tell your story about Brooklyn at the next LUC meeting (Sept. 27).
I’d like to respectfully offer a different perspective.
There are more than a “few” supporters of the Ryan Field rebuild and the rezoning. Separate from Northwestern’s signatures (as I am sure there are many who believe these aren’t real), Field of Opportunities, has collected over 850 names, published them and have included wherever possible, what Ward supporters reside in. Furthermore, over 3 dozen residents within 1,000 feet submitted a statement and evidence at the LUC meeting on Wednesday – which I also provided as my personal submission given we live immediately adjacent to Northwestern’s property. Both figures represent more than a “few”.
Importantly, the majority that attended the 5-hour LUC meeting represent a very specific demographic; a group that has an outsized influence on public policy in our City because they now have the time and resources to object to changes they aren’t comfortable with. I’d also argue most aren’t raising children at home and don’t have to find a babysitter or make arrangements to be able to stay at a meeting until midnight. So when a select commissioner remarks there is so much opposition to this proposal, I’d offer caution – you are reacting only to the angry people right in front of you and drawing inaccurate conclusions regarding the pulse of this debate.
Furthermore, I am surprised that a commissioner, who is as an accomplished architect, is operating under the very 1950s small-town mindset that development, density, and increased visitor traffic is BAD for Evanston and that fairly minor parking and auto traffic concerns that already exist under current conditions (at a stadium walking distance from mass transit and commuter rail) should completely negate the construction of a SMALLER CAPACITY stadium.
Lastly – and know this is coming from someone who did not initially support re-zoning when proposed in 2019 – I attended several meetings that Northwestern hosted for residents when they sought feedback on the stadium rebuild and design. Having attended and listened to concerns and opportunities, the design proposed has absolutely taken into account concerns. My husband and I also personally met with officials from Northwestern to discuss placement of assets around the field as we are adjacent. The new design is evidence that we felt heard.
Given the design enhancements of the proposed rebuild, given attendance for concerts will be 6,500 less than that of a football game, and importantly, that Northwestern is coming to the table with meaningful offerings we should pay attention to (Note: and I trust our elected officials are still negotiating for even more) I am enthusiastically supportive and don’t feel the slightest bit disregarded.
I agree that there are many reasons to be against the football stadium project. I wasn’t at the meeting Wednesday night so I can’t comment directly about what representatives of Northwestern said but if they compared the NU project to McCormick Place, the United Center, or Ravinia this is the height of a absurdity. At the same time it is no less absurd for comments to be made that Central Street would begin to look like Clark Street on both sides of Wrigley Field. Owners of urban bars frequented by many younger people want to make money and Central Street is not where they would achieve that. Some downtown Evanston bars serve a Northwestern student clientele with little if any negative impact on the downtown district.
Agree! I was there until midnight. I can only conclude that the very small group of neighbors who are in favor have absolutely no clue what is going to happen to them if this goes through. Folks this will comprise over 35% of warm weather weekends not including football games and not including the other 60+ commercial events Northwestern is planning. No street parking for neighborhood residents or their guests very difficult to impossible to come into or out of the area for three days with trucks, buses, etc. northwestern is grossly underestimating numbers who will drive. Most people don’t want to take any form of public transportation after 10 pm; most people will drive. This whole project is inappropriate for this location and for Evanston at so many levels. And with Northwestern’s history of ignoring promises made to the community we must only plan for nothing from them. Further themselves admitted any job creation would cover a three county region not just Evanston. Let’s just say no change to zoning change required to do this.
We must never give up. Thank you. Enough!
Agree completely!
You realize there is already a stadium there, with 10,000+ more capacity than the proposed stadium?
So when you were ‘dreaming of that tranquil’ life, did you consider that B10 Football, Basketball, Baseball and Softball were already there for 100 years in some cases, bringing in big, noisy crowds who enjoy watching live sports? (Patten Gym was basketball till 1952, so 73 years for Welsh-Ryan)
Agree!
Correction. It wasn’t Mr. Figora who answered yes. It was the gentleman who manages concerts throughout the U.S. That said, he did look to the remaining members of his cohort for confirmation when he stated Wake Forest and University of Colorado , and was not corrected by Mr. Figora.
When asked if there were other universities that had football stadiums similarly located within off-campus neighborhoods, Mr. Figora answered yes, Wake Forest and the University of Colorado. I checked Google Earth and found stadiums for both schools on on their campuses with no neighborhood interference. Mr. Figora should know this since he graduated from Wake Forest. Did he really think no one would check?
Agree. My memory of the stadium at Colorado (confirmed by the CU website) is a football stadium surrounded by university buildings to the south and west, ample parking and an enclosed b-ball arena with its own parking areas to the East. On the north is ample green space with a small waterway. Nothing is similar to the Northwestern proposal unless they now use the stadium for concerts.