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new ryan field
new ryan field
Friday night, the New Ryan Field, the costliest stadium ever built primarily for college football, opens for business. The completely privately funded, $875,000,000 venue, opens when the Northwestern Wildcats host the Penn State Nittany Lions. This is, quite literally, the House that Pat Ryan built.
So it naturally invites the question, can he help get it done for the Chicago Bears too?
pat ryan northwestern
pat ryan northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions
FRIDAY, October 2, 7 pm CT
New Ryan Field Opener | Evanston, Illinois
FOX (Connor Onion, Robert Griffin III, Alexa Landestoy)
WGN 720 AM (Dave Eanet, Ted Albrecht)
Game Preview and Prediction: go here
Spread: PSU -2.5, O/U 48.5
ESPN Matchup Predictor: 55.9% chance of Penn State winning
David Braun, at his weekly news conference, says the New Ryan Field will be “transformational for the football program and the university” pic.twitter.com/Es1qDijxuf
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) September 28, 2026
After all, Ryan, 89, has a net worth of around $9.1, according to the most recent Forbes estimates, and he reportedly owns about a one-fifth stake in the Chicago Bears.
Given what a total mess the Bears stadium search has become, it is time for someone who actually knows what they are doing to step in and take the lead here. The Bears acquired the land surrounding and containing the former Arlington Park racetrack in 2023.
But since we’ve had the Hammond, IN plan, which still seems more like negotiating leverage than reality. There has been other assorted mishegoss perpetrated by Kevin Warren along the way, and here we sit, almost into 2027, and still no shovels in the ground in Arlington Heights.
Ryan, a self-made billionaire who built his fortune via insurance, has a great track record with stadium projects, and we’ll see that in action Friday night, when Northwestern’s new Ryan Field hosts its first football game.
Ryan’s son, Pat Ryan, Jr., was the main developer of the 35,000 capacity venue that some refer to as a mini-NFL stadium.
Others have described it as a facility that is very similar to a football/soccer stadium in one of Europe’s big five leagues.
Here in Chicagoland, the new Northwestern stadium is drawing a lot of buzz. I’ve had a couple people ask me “why can’t the Bears play there?”
Well, the answer is obvious, capacity size is too small for the NFL, but I get where they are going with this, since Pat Ryan got the wheels in motion for NU. Myabe he can do so again for the Monsters of the Midway?
According to Capitol News:
The Chicago Bears executive leading the organization’s effort to build a new stadium (COO Karen Murphy) met with Gov. JB Pritzker’s top economic development official in August, according to emails obtained by Capitol News Illinois via a public records request.
The records show that Bears minority owner and board member Pat Ryan also was included as a late addition to at least one of the meetings.
It’s also worth noting that here in Chicagoland, there is always, somebody, everywhere you go, at all times, who wants to make small talk related to the Bears with you.
Ryan, the retired founder and former CEO of AON Corporation, has been on the NU board of trustees for 37 years, 14 of which he served as chairman. He’s one of the university’s greatest benefactors of all-time, and he’s hands down the most generous donor that the school’s athletic department has ever had.
Pat Ryan is to Northwestern what Phil Knight is to Oregon or what T. Boone Pickens was to Oklahoma State.
In 2013, he received the Northwestern Alumni Association Medal of Honor, their highest award, given to alumni who combines superior professional distinction and/or exemplary volunteer service to society, with an outstanding record of service to Northwestern.
And he’s built a state-of-the-art football palace on Central Street in Evanston.
“This stadium protects you from some of the outside elements that we’re all so familiar with here in the Chicagoland area,” Northwestern coach David Braun said at a summertime media preview of the new stadium.
“The environment that we can create on third down.
“I mean, you guys can see this entire fan base will literally be on top of you.
“The excitement that’s created when we’re scoring touchdowns on offense, the environment that it’s going to create for our special teams with the way that ultimately, the arena that it provides for us to really redefine game day.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofThe Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.