Northwestern pushes for football game at Wrigley Field

[Redhawk]

Just as long as the ivy is in full bloom.

Probably not during football season.

 

[cincibuck]

Just as long as the ivy is in full bloom.

Not likely when it (the Illinois game) is your traditional season ender. Why not just take a tour of Wrigley... better still, go see a Cubs game. It's a fun place to watch a baseball game and that's just what it was intended for.

There's a reason why Riverfront/Memorial (philly)/Atlanta/Three Rivers/Busch Stadiums only lasted about 25 years apiece: They sucked. They sucked because they could not match the sight lines, the field layout, they required Astroturf and on and on, but mostly they just sucked because they were trying to serve two sports equally and ended up serving neither particularly well.

IF NU wanted to move the game to Soldier Field I'd understand, but to expand the cult of Saint Wrigley Field seems to me to be just plain dumb thinking. Why not move the game to Lincoln Park Zoo, have Wrestle-mania at half time, a stock car race afterwards. Maybe that'll bring 'em in.

I might have understood some of this if we were talking about the 70s and 80s, when NU football was the very definition of futility. But for the last 20 years they've had innovative coaches, some pretty interesting players, wide open play, a championship here and there, bowl games and now they have one of the best young coaches in college football. Why turn to gimmicks, and that's what a game in Wrigley is, a gimmick, just when the program is beginning to gain some respectability?

 

[DaytonBuck]

Maybe they've done this in the past but I'm surprised the Cats don't try to move home games against bigger opponents to Soldier Field

 

[PatMicMac]

Why turn to gimmicks, and that's what a game in Wrigley is, a gimmick, just when the program is beginning to gain some respectability?

Many established traditions started out as gimmicks, but that doesn't make them less cool now that we're used to them. I think having ONE game a year at Wrigley is a great idea for NU to try and get some more fans to come to the games. Since their football program is on the way up, they need to find some fans in order to keep it going that way and a game at Wrigley every year is an easy way to get a couple more people watching the game.

 

[BB73]

Some historical information about Northwestern playing football in the Chicago area, but not in Evanston:

In 1891, they played a game at Cubs Park, which was two ballparks prior to Wrigley Field - a scoreless tie against Lake Forest.

In 1892, they beat TSUN at 25th Street field.

In 1893, they lost 8-0 to the Denver Athletic Club, in a game played at the Chicago World's Fair Livestock Pavilion. This was almost certainly the first night football game played in Chicago.

In 1901 and 1904 they lost to Minnesota at Marshall Field (now Stagg Field) at the University of Chicago. They also lost to Tulane there in 1925, a game that was originally scheduled for Soldier Field

In 1903, they played 3 games at White Sox Park (before the first Comiskey was built), tying NoD and Wisconsin, and losing to Carlisle (several years before Jim Thorpe's teams).

In 1923, Nowrthwestern lost to Illinois 29-0 at Wrigley Field. Red Grange scored a TD for the Illini.

In 1924, in the first football game ever played at Soldier Field, Northwestern lost to NoD 13-6, in front of 45,000.

In 1925, Northwestern beat TSUN 3-2 in front of about 40,000 who braved a 'monsoon', although 70,000 tickets had been sold.

They've played 5 other 'home' games at Soldier Field, most recently losses to NoD in 1992 and 1994, and a 1997 24-0 win over Oklahoma in a season opening Pigskin Classic.

They also played 2 'neutral' site games at Soldier Field in 1931, which were played there as part of Depression relief efforts.

In 1991, Northwestern had a 'home' game at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. 73,830 fans saw tOSU win 34-3. And to those wondering, that is the only game among those mentioned that I actually attended.

purple.homesites

 

[OHSportsFan]

Some historical information about Northwestern playing football in the Chicago area, but not in Evanston:

In 1891, they played a game at Cubs Park, which was two ballparks prior to Wrigley Field - a scoreless tie against Lake Forest.

In 1892, they beat TSUN at 25th Street field.

In 1893, they lost 8-0 to the Denver Athletic Club, in a game played at the Chicago World's Fair Livestock Pavilion. This was almost certainly the first night football game played in Chicago.

In 1901 and 1904 they lost to Minnesota at Marshall Field (now Stagg Field) at the University of Chicago. They also lost to Tulane there in 1925, a game that was originally scheduled for Soldier Field

In 1903, they played 3 games at White Sox Park (before the first Comiskey was built), tying NoD and Wisconsin, and losing to Carlisle (several years before Jim Thorpe's teams).

In 1923, Nowrthwestern lost to Illinois 29-0 at Wrigley Field. Red Grange scored a TD for the Illini.

In 1924, in the first football game ever played at Soldier Field, Northwestern lost to NoD 13-6, in front of 45,000.

In 1925, Northwestern beat TSUN 3-2 in front of about 40,000 who braved a 'monsoon', although 70,000 tickets had been sold.

They've played 5 other 'home' games at Soldier Field, most recently losses to NoD in 1992 and 1994, and a 1997 24-0 win over Oklahoma in a season opening Pigskin Classic.

They also played 2 'neutral' site games at Soldier Field in 1931, which were played there as part of Depression relief efforts.

In 1991, Northwestern had a 'home' game at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. 73,830 fans saw tOSU win 34-3. And to those wondering, that is the only game among those mentioned that I actually attended.

purple.homesites

Just couldn't get tickets to the other ones or what?

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

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.

[jo4h]you probably wear a visor and are a fan of no touch icing[/jo4h]

 

[cincibuck]

I'd buy a ticket to see a football game in the Rome Collesium. How about LaCross in a Kroger's Super Store? Maybe hold the winter Olympics in Dubai?
http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=5682&stc=1&d=1232375610


How about basketball in the Taj Mahal? The Indy 500 has lost a lot of its luster, how about moving it to Wembley and have a World Cup game going on in mid-field? Put the Boston Marathon in the Empire State Building, Rosy Ruiz could use the elevators.

If you want to see a football game in a baseball stadium I guess you have a right to your opinion. The NFL worked hard to get their teams out from under baseball's shadow and the last part of that work was to get their teams out of baseball facilities. I'm not enamored with the idea of using tax dollars for private investments, but in the sense of putting the event in the proper setting it was a task worth taking on and now Northwestern wants to go back...

 

[Bucklion]

Well it will be at least 100 years before NW wins a football championship, so...

 

[jimotis4heisman]

They've played 5 other 'home' games at Soldier Field, most recently losses to NoD in 1992 and 1994, and a 1997 24-0 win over Oklahoma in a season opening Pigskin Classic.



In 1991, Northwestern had a 'home' game at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. 73,830 fans saw tOSU win 34-3. And to those wondering, that is the only game among those mentioned that I actually attended.

purple.homesites

was one of those games vs ohio state? (i think it was, im pretty sure it was, i think i was there) or am i crazy?

[jo4h]you probably wear a visor and are a fan of no touch icing[/jo4h]

no doubt, who hasnt been to a hockey game? well only three types of people
1-terrorist
2-those who wear visors and spend their lives hiding behind the shield
3-those who are boycotting the nhl due to no touch iciing...

 

[jwinslow]

no doubt, who hasnt been to a hockey game? well only three types of people
1-terrorist
2-those who wear visors and spend their lives hiding behind the shield
3-those who are boycotting the nhl due to no touch iciing...

4-those who are still picking up the pieces of their life without the glowing puck

 

[redbenn]

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.

i still wouldnt go

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

A Northwestern "home" game in Wrigley will draw more people than one in Evanston, just because it is at Wrigley.

No, it won't. Ryan Field has a capacity of 47,130. It is rarely filled unless Ohio State comes to town, and that's only because half the fans (or more) are Ohio State fans. If Northwestern can't fill a 47k stadium, why move to a larger venue?

EDIT: Attendance figures for all Northwestern home games for 2008:

20,015 (Syracuse)
19,062 (Southern Illinois)
22,069 (Ohio)
32,527 (Michigan State)
27,163 (Purdue)
47,130 (Ohio State)
32,166 (Illinois)

Our game was sold out. If you recorded the game, go back and look at the stadium shots...at least 2/3 were OSU fans. The next highest attendance was for MSU, and they were still 15,000 below capacity (aka, the stadium was 31% empty).

 

[Mike80]

no doubt, who hasnt been to a hockey game? well only three types of people
1-terrorist
2-those who wear visors and spend their lives hiding behind the shield
3-those who are boycotting the nhl due to no touch iciing...

4. 5. and 6 - People from the area of Phoenix, Atlanta and Miami....

 

[jwinslow]

The three outdoor hockey games attracted 57k, 71k & 41k. Those attendance numbers were 3.5x, 3.8x & 2x the max capacity of their home arenas. The 41k was Wrigley Field.

It seems like a decent idea to me.