Northwestern University’s hopes to host concerts at an $800 million rebuilt Ryan Field are still alive after a contentious, late-night meeting of Evanston’s City Council Monday night.
Northwestern is hoping to rebuild the nearly 100-year-old stadium and utilize the new field beyond the college football season by hosting concerts and other community events.
Opponents argue the university has tried to commercialize the field, located in the center of a residential neighborhood on the border of Evanston and Wilmette, multiple times throughout the years and the city has repeatedly shot this down. Supporters say concerts and increased use of the field will bring in tourism dollars and help to bring back the city’s dwindling downtown.
Tensions ran high with two shoving matches breaking out, at one point stalling public comment and leading to several people being removed.
“Intensity and passion is healthy and the community engagement is literally the very thing that makes us love Evanston, but there is a challenge inherent in that and a risk that things could become unhealthy, unproductive and ultimately unsafe,” Mayor Daniel Biss said after one shoving match was broken up. “I’m asking everyone to approach these sharp differences with an attitude of mutual respect.”
Evanston’s Land Use Commission voted unanimously during its meeting earlier this month to recommend the rebuild of the stadium but voted to not recommend the use the field for concerts.
The nearly eight hour meeting stretched into the early-morning hours of Halloween and saw Councilmembers Eleanor Revelle, Melissa Wynne, Thomas Suffredin and Clare Kelly vote against the use of Ryan Field as a commercial space. A tiebreaking vote by Biss allowed the proposal to move forward for a final vote on Nov. 13.
Kelly voiced her frustrations about making so many changes this late in the game, calling the vote premature and arguing the city could revisit allowing more commercial uses for Ryan Field after construction is completed in three years.
“We should not be making decisions like this on the fly for something that so seriously is going to impact our community. It’s absurd. It’s wrong,” she said. “It feels reckless, disrespectful and irresponsible.”
Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma put forward an amendment outlining proposed standards and penalties for concerts at the field to assure residents the city wants to minimize impacts. This included a maximum average 80 decibels, which if broken would cost the university $50,000, and a 10 p.m. sound cutoff with a 15-minute grace window where a $30,000 penalty and an additional $2,000 per minute over would be issued if broken. Fines would also be incurred if traffic in the area isn’t returned to a baseline an hour after the concert ends, parking or security staffing is not sufficient or if calls to 911 in the area of the stadium increased by 50% over a baseline.
Representatives from Northwestern said the standards outlined would be acceptable.
The amendment passed as part of the 5-4 vote.
Both sides of the table have overstated their positions, according to Nieuwsma, who said he believes concerts would be a good thing for the community to help rebuild in a post-COVID-19 economy and reinvent the city.
“I think we have undeniable strengths in arts and culture and entertainment,” Nieuwsma said. “I’m comfortable asking those neighbors to tolerate some inconvenience for up to six days a year. … I’m asking the residents of the 7th Ward to accept that for the greater good.”
He also said the goal is not for the city to make a profit by repeatedly fining the university but holding it accountable to the promises it has made.
Revelle, Kelly and Suffredin also voted against an amended rebuild proposal that added increased environmental goals, a traffic management plan to be completed by the end of construction and requirement that Northwestern adhere to a community benefits agreement that is legally enforceable by the city and is finalized before the final vote.
These amendments also passed and will be included in the updated ordinance for a final vote on Nov. 13.
As part of a draft version of the required community benefits agreement, beginning in 2024, Northwestern has proposed a 10-year, $100 million package that would include annual payments of $3 million to a Good Neighbor Fund, $500,000 to a local workforce program, $500,000 for racial equity programming, a minimum $1 million to area nonprofit organizations, $2 million in scholarship funding for local students to attend the university and $250,000 to revitalize downtown.
The university also agreed to give at least 35% of work on field construction to minority and women-owned local businesses, increase admittance to the university for Evanston Township High School students, market and advertise through the Kellogg School of Management, begin an internship program for Northwestern students with the city and help with fundraising efforts for the city’s Guaranteed Basic Income program.
Once the stadium is complete in 2027 and each year for the following decade, the university agreed to a $3 surcharge per concert ticket to fund a donation of at least half a million to Evanston schools, a guaranteed $2 million in tax revenue from the stadium, a $250,000 annual event at the field coordinated between the city and university, access to public open spaces at the stadium, potential advanced ticket windows for residents and community nights.
The zoning changes that would allow concerts would continue after the 10 years of proposed benefits end.
Opponents of the stadium said during three hours of public comment that the updated proposed benefits are disingenuous because they were brought forward only hours before the meeting began. They argued it was an attempt to limit negotiations and said the benefits agreement should be signed before any zoning changes are voted on.
Northwestern and the Most Livable City Association, which opposes the field’s use as a commercial venture, were both given 10 minutes to present before the council. Northwestern has said the field rebuild would not be viable without permissions for concerts and highlighted the increased community benefits. Most Livable City said the university has more than enough funding to operate the stadium, arguing the university would rebuild the stadium in order to keep up with fellow Big 10 universities regardless of whether zoning changes are approved.
Councilmember Krissie Harris, an admitted avid concert attendee, urged residents, the university and council to do better.
“We need to make some decisions on who we’re going to be,” she said. “We can disagree without being disagreeable. We are Evanston and we are so much better than how we are behaving on both sides. We’re all not playing fair in the sandbox and we need to figure that out.”
Evanston City Council is expected to host a final vote on the rebuild and zoning changes at its Nov. 13 meeting.
