Northwestern's $875M Stadium Looked Empty—But It Was Sold Out

Northwestern opened its $875 million new stadium Friday night, and the Wildcats thrashed Penn State 34–13 in front of a boisterous Ryan Field crowd. But to TV viewers, the stadium looked surprisingly empty, with large swaths of the lower bowl unfilled from the start and the crowd visibly thinning in the second half, per sports.yahoo.com.

Ryan Sports Development CEO Pat Ryan Jr. said the 35,000-seat venue was sold out the Monday before the game. He offered an explanation on X for the empty-looking seats.

"Didn't see it coming tbh: our concourses are open & overlook the field," Ryan wrote. "They turned into giant bars with people hanging out watching the game there together live. Clubs were also packed w/ people watching the game."

The design was intentional. A Northwestern press release last month advertised that with "concourses that open directly to the bowl, the result is simple: fans can grab food and drinks without missing a play." The stadium also contains four premium clubs where fans can watch the game away from the main seating areas.

What looked like sparse attendance on television was, according to the developer, a crowd that chose the open concourses and clubs over their seats.

THE CONCOURSE DESIGN EXPLAINED

The concourses were built to keep fans close to the action, even when they step away from their seats. A Northwestern press release last month advertised that with "concourses that open directly to the bowl, the result is simple: fans can grab food and drinks without missing a play."

Ryan Field also contains four premium clubs where fans can watch the game away from the main seating areas. According to sports.yahoo.com, those clubs were packed Friday night, as were the open concourses.

Pat Ryan Jr., CEO of Ryan Sports Development, said the concourses "turned into giant bars" with people watching live together. The developer's explanation for the empty-looking lower bowl: fans simply chose to stand and socialize with a view rather than sit in their assigned seats.

One area that was visibly full: the "Wildcat Wall," a seatless, European-football style student section with a 2,000-person capacity. Per sports.yahoo.com, it was packed and helped drive the noise that head coach David Braun later called "electric."

The design feature worked as intended, according to the developer—but it also produced a television image that looked nothing like a sellout.