The new Ryan Field hit an exciting milestone as part of the lead-up to its first-ever game between the Northwestern Wildcats and Penn State Nittany Lions in Evanston, Ill.
The 2026 college football season will mark a huge milestone for the Northwestern Wildcats football program. David Braun's team will begin playing its games at the new Ryan Field, which will be located at 1501 Central Street in Evanston, Ill.
Braun and the Wildcats' new football field and stadium will replace the previous Ryan Field, which was built way back in 1926.
At 35,000 seats with a cost of $862 million, the new Ryan Field isn't going to be a large stadium by Big Ten standards. It will rank 18th among all 18 Big Ten teams, just behind Maryland's SECU Stadium (46,185 fans).
On Wednesday, the New Ryan Field X account made a historic moment known for the social media world to see, as it shared its latest update a little less than three months out from its opening game against Penn State on Sept. 25.
First Turf Goes Down at Ryan Field
Ryan Field's first turf was added on Wednesday, a development shared by the New Ryan Field X account.
"Yard by Yard. The very first strip of turf hits the ground at #NewRyanField," the account wrote in a post viewed over 13,000 times as of late Wednesday night.
The decision to go with turf did not sit well with at least one fan underneath the X post.
"Artificial turf. Boo," the fan said.
"Great stuff!!!" another added.
"Why not grass? Downgrade tbh," another said.
The decision to use turf at the new stadium continues a long Northwestern football history of switching from one field type to another, dating back to the use of natural grass from 1926 to 1972, before the program used three different types of turf from 1973 until 1996.
The 'Cats played on grass from 1997-2023 before switching to FieldTurf in 2024.
Northwestern will have plenty of time to get things right for the big debut with Big Ten Media Day on the horizon and three returning starters picked to represent Braun's team.
Stadium Makes Up For Lack of Size With Heart
Renderings of what the new Ryan Field will look like have created a wave of anticipation throughout the Evanston area. The stadium is being designed to maximize the fan experience with several unique features.
A 'Wildcat Wall' is included as part of the design, the first U.S.-based attempt to mimic a raucous European football style, standing room only fan section, according to lead designer Pat Ryan Jr.
Three bars will also be placed at field level, while seven hundred or more people will be able to take in the action from the same field level vantage point.
"The feedback that I get from people is that they feel like they're in the movie Gladiator," Ryan Jr. said.
"There's not a bad seat in the stadium," he added.
