Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-03 · by Jay Cohen The Associated Press
Northwestern University opened its newly renovated Ryan Field with a victory over Penn State in a game marked by fireworks, music, and school spirit. The $875 million facility, featuring state-of-the-art technology and local culinary offerings, seats 35,000 people, making it the smallest stadium in the Big Ten but also college football’s most expensive. Students praised the purple-themed atmosphere that encapsulates Northwestern spirit, while Coach David Braun celebrated the new experience as a testament to the university's legacy.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Friday night, Northwestern opened its new Ryan Field, a $875 million stadium that seats 35,000, in a game against Penn State. The Wildcats won convincingly, 34-13, with running back Caleb Komolafe rushing for a career-high 188 yards and two touchdowns. The new stadium features cutting-edge technology, concessions from local restaurants, and a canopy designed to enhance the fan experience by focusing noise and light on the field. Northwestern’s win marked their first game in the rebuilt stadium, which stands on the same site as the former Ryan Field, exactly 100 years after its predecessor was inaugurated.
Written for “Northwestern Wins At New Stadium” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
As Eva Liu and Angie Lee took in the new Ryan Field on Friday, there was one thing in particular that stood out to the pair of Northwestern juniors.
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that → take → juniors
“It’s a lot of purple,” said Liu, a double major in neuroscience and film from Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Liu → ’ → Vancouver
“It really brings the school spirit immediately because I’ve been to stadiums for concerts and stuff, but no stadium really hits like this.
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stadium → bring → this
It’s the school color and it’s very impactful when you see it because it’s really themed around Northwestern.”
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it → ’ → Northwestern
The new Ryan Field made its long-awaited debut with a light show, fireworks and a dominant performance by Northwestern in a 34-13 win over Penn State.
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Field → make → State
The party included a stadium-wide rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” ahead of the fourth quarter, led by Northwestern’s national champion women’s lacrosse team.
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party → include → team
Aidan Chiles scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard carry with 5:07 left in the first quarter, lifting Northwestern to a 10-0 lead.
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Chiles → score → lead
The Wildcats rolled to 413 yards rushing before punctuating the victory with high-fives with the student section on their way off the field.
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Wildcats → roll → field
“This is something that dreams are made of, a night like tonight,” Northwestern coach David Braun said.
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Braun → make → tonight
The $875 million facility — billed as college football’s most expensive stadium — was built on the same site as the former Ryan Field.
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facility → bill → Field
It seats 35,000, down more than 12,000 from the school’s previous home.
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It → seat → home
It’s the smallest stadium by capacity in the Big Ten.
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It → ’ → Ten
The first game was played on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the original Northwestern Stadium.
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game → play → Stadium
“I think it’s really grand,” said Lee, a chemical engineering major from Taiwan.
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Lee → think → Taiwan
“It’s great to see that people are really hyped about the stadium, especially because I knew there was a lot of criticism from my friends with how much money was spent on the stadium.
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money → ’ → stadium
But now that I’m here, I was like, OK, it is kind of worth it to get the college experience, especially coming internationally.”
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it → ’m → experience
Alumni Shirley and Pat Ryan and family made a $480 million gift to help fund the stadium and other projects.
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Ryan → make → stadium
There is a Pat Ryan statue in a concourse on the way into the facility, and Northwestern paid tribute to the Ryan family before the game.
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Northwestern → be → game
“We have redefined how we do football on Saturdays in Evanston, and it’s a credit to a lot of people, but it all starts with the Ryan family,” Braun said.
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Braun → redefine → family
The stadium features a canopy designed to keep noise and light focused on the field and includes cutting-edge technology and scoreboards, as well as concessions with food from local restaurants.
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noise → feature → restaurants
It’s a major change for Northwestern after it played its home games for the past two-plus years at a temporary lakefront facility and at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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it → ’ → Chicago
The university broke ground on the new Ryan Field in June 2024.
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university → break → June
“It seems a lot bigger than the old one, even though it’s less seating and it’s loud.
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it → seem → one
It’s loud, yes,” said McKenna Bentley, 28, of Bloomingdale.
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Bentley → ’ → Bloomingdale
“Which I think is, Northwestern fans aren’t used to that previously, so I love that.
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I → think → that
I think the dome makes it seem very loud.”
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it → think → ?
McKenna and her brother, Luke, 25, of Napervillle, soaked in their surroundings from their seats before the game.
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McKenna → soak → game
Their father, Brendan, played for Northwestern, but he wasn’t able to attend the Ryan Field debut because of his duties as an assistant coach for a high school team.
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he → play → team
“He’s always said he was one of the last bums out the door before they started becoming a more competitive program,” Luke Bentley said.
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Bentley → say → door
“This is something that like he’s been stoked for because like to see the program where it’s at now compared to where it was back then is unbelievable.”
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it → stoke → program
The Aporia
