Ryan Field renovation would bring in tens of millions of dollars for Evanston, study finds
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new study on Northwestern University's plan to rebuild Ryan Field has found the renovated stadium would increase its economic impact on the city of Evanston thanks to the addition of concerts.
The new stadium would be 12,000 seats smaller, but the university wants to host concerts and events there in addition to sports. Northwestern has said that the project is privately funded, including a $480 million donation from the Ryan family, for whom the stadium is named.
"It is not often a stadium is offered to a community with virtually no cost to the host community," the report from C.H. Johnson Consulting states. "The proposed stadium will remove blight from Central Avenue. The new stadium will be complemented by a park setting and an urban plaza between the stadium and Ryan Arena. A concert has about the same economic contribution as a football game, so if six concerts were held, the experience would be similar to hosting a game, which the community does very well already."
According to the study, which examined the existing stadium's economic impact on Evanston between 2015 and 2019, the city would see a slight drop in tax revenue if Ryan Field were to host only three concerts a year, but a slight increase if the stadium hosted six concerts a year. The stadium's best historical year has been approximately $2.3 million in taxes for Evanston. Three concerts a year in addition to Northwestern football would generate $2.2 million. That figure would climb to $2.5 million with six concerts.
The stadium's best overall economic impact when accounting for all total spending from Ryan Field – including on hotels, restaurants, and shopping – was $47.2 million a year from 2015 to 2019, according to the report. That figure would jump to $66.7 million with three concerts added each year, or $77.8 million with six concerts added a year.
The $800 million project must first pass zoning hurdles in Evanston, and has received increased pushback from some neighbors in the wake of the football team's hazing scandal, which cost longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald his job this summer.
Community organizers opposed to the new stadium say the report from C.H. Johnson has "serious flaws." In July, six faculty members called on Northwestern to pause the Ryan Field renovation plans, but last week the university presented their vision for the future of the stadium to the Land Use Commission in Evanston.
