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Northwestern pushes for football game at Wrigley Field

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Redhawk

Redhawk

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    • Northwestern pushes for football game vs. Illinois at Wrigley Field -- chicagotribune.com

    The Winter Classic at Wrigley Field was a blockbuster event. And Cubs fans still daydream about a Fall Classic at the Friendly Confines. But Jim Phillips has a new vision for Wrigley: a classic Big Ten football game.
    Northwestern's athletic director told the Tribune on Friday that he is "exploring to the fullest" a Northwestern-Illinois football game at Wrigley that would be played in the next two to three years. And if Illinois takes a pass, Phillips will seek another foe. An Illinois official cautioned the school would be reluctant to give up a home game, especially considering the Illini sold out 62,870-seat Memorial Stadium for all four Big Ten home games last season. But Northwestern rarely sells out home games at 47,130-seat Ryan Field unless Ohio State's in town.
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    Why would you want to play a football game in Wrigley? The Bears left there to play in Soldier Field for (a) reason(s) starting with capacity and ending with sight lines. Baseball stadiums do not a football field make.
     
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    cincibuck;1383920; said:
    Why would you want to play a football game in Wrigley? The Bears left there to play in Soldier Field for (a) reason(s) starting with capacity and ending with sight lines. Baseball stadiums do not a football field make.
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    Why would you want to play a hockey game at Wrigley?
     
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    cincibuck;1383956; said:
    35,000 vs 15,000?
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    You just answered your own question. A Northwestern "home" game in Wrigley will draw more people than one in Evanston, just because it is at Wrigley.
     
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    Maybe, but Dyke is at least the same size and NU pays no fee to play there, has no transportation costs and doesn't end up with a terible place to play a football game. If, with a team playing as well as Nu has ever played, you can't sell out your rivalry game, Illinois, what do you gain by playing in a stadium that is not designed for the sport?

    I like Wrigley. I've been there four times and it's just a great place to watch... a game of baseball. I've been to football games forced into baseball settings, the Bengals, the St Louis Cards, Briggs Stadium, even Municiplal Stadium. Of those only Municipal was a decent setting for the game. Sideline seating is so far removed from the field... the best seats end up in the end zones. It's just bad thinking, giving in to fad.
     
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    Redhawk;1383915; said:
    Northwestern pushes for football game vs. Illinois at Wrigley Field -- chicagotribune.com
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    The team I support is not in the Big10, so I understand my input should be taken with plenty of grains of salt.

    However - I always thought you had a better chance of selling your product (in this case - Northwestern Football) if your product was top flight. NU staff and athletic administration should look to improve their quality and then bring about these ideas.

    That said - with the improvements El Zooko has made to the UI program, If the Purplecats could average about 9 wins for 2-3 years, a "Battle of Illinois" game in Soldier field might be a good idea.

    A factor that nobody seems to be discussing is the effect a football game might have on the Wrigley playing surface. I'm assuming the game would take place sometime between August - October...based on how the Cubs roster looks, they'll probably still be playing during this time.
     
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    BigWoof31;1384052; said:
    The team I support is not in the Big10, so I understand my input should be taken with plenty of grains of salt.

    However - I always thought you had a better chance of selling your product (in this case - Northwestern Football) if your product was top flight. NU staff and athletic administration should look to improve their quality and then bring about these ideas.

    That said - with the improvements El Zooko has made to the UI program, If the Purplecats could average about 9 wins for 2-3 years, a "Battle of Illinois" game in Soldier field might be a good idea.

    A factor that nobody seems to be discussing is the effect a football game might have on the Wrigley playing surface. I'm assuming the game would take place sometime between August - October...based on how the Cubs roster looks, they'll probably still be playing during this time.
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    Based on the fact they're the Cubs, they'll be done by the end of the first week in October.
     
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    BigWoof31;1384052; said:
    The team I support is not in the Big10, so I understand my input should be taken with plenty of grains of salt.

    However - I always thought you had a better chance of selling your product (in this case - Northwestern Football) if your product was top flight. NU staff and athletic administration should look to improve their quality and then bring about these ideas.
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    I'm not sure there's anything they could do to sell their product. Northwestern students and alum really don't care much about their football team, even when they're good.

    However, what they could sell here is the opportunity to watch a Big 10 football game at Wrigley Field, something I would jump on if I lived in the area.
     
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    BigWoof31;1384052; said:
    A factor that nobody seems to be discussing is the effect a football game might have on the Wrigley playing surface. I'm assuming the game would take place sometime between August - October...based on how the Cubs roster looks, they'll probably still be playing during this time.
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    The stated preference is their tilt vs. the Illini, if they make the arrangement for '09 or '10 then that would place the game in mid to late November.
    2011 places the Ilinois game in mid-October, barring any re-shuffling with Purdue or Wisconsin.
     
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    wells;1384084; said:
    I've watched a game in Evanston before, and it was nothing special. If they were to move the OSU-NW game to Wrigley I would make it a point to go see it.
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    Why? It's a frickin' baseball stadium. There's no parking, although the El does drop you off right by, and there's a string of baseball bars... I just don't get the attraction.
     
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    cincibuck;1384116; said:
    Why? It's a frickin' baseball stadium. There's no parking, although the El does drop you off right by, and there's a string of baseball bars... I just don't get the attraction.
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    It's one of the top stadiums in the country, it's something different, it gives folks a reason to actually watch a Northwestern game.

    It would be like watching the Blue Jackets play an outdoor game in Ohio Stadium. I'd probably go and watch that, whereas I've spent 3.5 years in Cbus and never seriously looked at Nationwide arena tickets.
     
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    I think it's an innovative way to draw fans to the game. Plus, Wrigley has housed a few football games in it's day. As long as they get the scenarios ironed out before a problem arises and they jump the gun to fast, this would be fun to watch as far as I'm concerned.

    Just as long as the ivy is in full bloom.
     
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