I don’t think this was factored into NU’s timeline until recently, it might affect getting the stadium finished in time for the first few games of the 2026 season.
Just another bump in the road.
It almost certainly will take more time AND more money to build than originally anticipated.
The problem is that an $800M project generates a lot of momentum. If it were funded by public money, it is possible that it could be stopped as the delays and overruns piled up. The fact that it is entirely privately funded pretty much guarantees that it will be built.
The only remaining question is how long the NU football team will be nomads.
If folks were taking bets on an opening date in the fall of 2026, I’d take the over.
Jeff
Bump in the road is OK, but I could see the opponents trying to delay it for a year or more via courts
Now Wilmette is getting involved.
We haven’t been to Evanston since the Purdue game to see if any activity is happening. Maybe our “boots on the ground” members can keep us updated.
I wonder what memorabilia will be saved. I recall the story about what Ernie Harwell the long-time Detroit Tigers announcer wanted from Tiger Stadium. It was the visiting clubhouse urinal as he said imagine the hall of famers that have used that.
I am sure there are a certain number of area residents that wish NU would move somewhere else.
Go B1GCats
rsl
I suspect until they get the OK from the Illinois historical preservation people, about all they can do is remove things that aren’t bolted down.
They’ve started to stage some heavy equipment in the West Lot and move around some barriers and fencing, but as Mike noted, they can’t actually start demolition until they get a demolition permit, which the City can’t issue until they get the certificate from the Illinois conservation commission, which apparently has largely to do with the fact that the stadium is built on former Native American grounds, and so they have to have a plan in place in the event they encounter any artifacts.
As I discussed in an earlier post, I don’t expect the pending or any other lawsuits to stop the demolition, but I don’t know for sure what will happen.
Are there any places in Illinois that aren’t former Native American grounds?
Sports memoriabilia collector might hope they unearth a treasure of stuff, like Otto Graham’s jockstrap. 
One of the times they replaced the Fieldturf in Lincoln they sold pieces of it by the square foot. Some people bought enough to do their decks.
Northwestern was there first!
So was Kennedy Airport, and there are still people who live in Queens that want it shut down because of the noise.
Go figure.
rsl
[quote=“CoachRoy, post:30, topic:123446”]
So was Kennedy Airport, and there are still people who live in Queens that want it shut down because of the noise.
[/quote
I would have said that Queens predated JFK (aka Idlewild) by many decades, since the aiport wasn’t built until 1948. Building up near the airport is a separate issue, like building near the Northwestern football stadium, but the city of Evanston wasn’t founded until well after Northwestern was founded.
I used to joke that the 2nd thing people in Rockaway did after signing their papers to buy a house, was to sign the petition to close JFK.
And when they build Idlewild Airport, there was nothing there either.
We lived out on Long Island right under the approach to the main runways, and we had jets overhead for 14 hours a day. You put in extra insulation, and you eventually ignored it, the way people who live next to the railroad do.
Oklahoma’s field is right in the middle of Norman. On game days, they make the main roads in and out of town one way. The people of Norman accept it, and when we lived there, the “natives” all knew ways to get around town to avoid the field.
Oh Well
Go B1GCats
rsl
My first apartment was on Juneway Avenue in Chicago, the CTA yards were visible from the kitchen door and at about 5AM every day when they started ramping up for that day’s commute there was a nearly constant screech from trains turning around.
The building is no longer there, the CTA bought the block and tore all the buildings down.
That was because the CTA had wheels attached to full axles, unlike the major lines that had independent wheels.
One wheel was always rubbing as they went around curves. LIRR didn’t have that problem.
go B1GCats
rsl
Ann Arbor is also a model in traffic control. They do the one-way street thing, but they also make reverses the ramps on I-94 so either it is all exits going to the game and all entrances after the game.
Whenever we talk to anybody in the AD department we mention traffic control for football.
I somehow think that Evanston resists all attempts at traffic control to aid the NU Fans…
just have a “feeling.”
Go B1GCats
rsl
Evanston wants to pretend Northwestern doesn’t exist, and Northwestern wants to pretend Evanston doesn’t exist.
A classic hate-hate model.
But we bought them a Purple Fire Truck!!!
It’s more like codependency.
Evanston is unwilling to admit that NU was here first and is inextricably intertwined with the town. Instead they view NU as an unfair burden inflicted on their otherwise boujee suburb. That’s mostly because NU accounts for almost 60% of the town’s building square footage, but pays no property tax. They also strenuously object to Evanston being called a college town.
NU is unwilling to admit they are defined by the lakefront, the affluent Evanston surroundings, and the proximity to Chicago. They refuse to admit that they have some responsibility for Evanston’s frustrations. Instead they treat the city council like an annoying little brother. They are mostly condescending, except when they need something. When they need something they resort to bribery, and it works every time. NU also strenuously objects to calling Evanston their home. They are Chicago’s B1G team, not Evanston’s.
Contrast that with the relationships of Ann Arbor and UoM or Columbus and OSU. Both Columbus and Ann Arbor started out as college towns (though Columbus is also the capital). But both towns have grown into vibrant business/research hubs that benefit from the economic “gravity” of their respective educational institutions. There is still the same stresses that 40K college kids are going to put on any town, but AA and Columbus appear to have embraced the challenge in ways that Evanston refuses to do.
Jeff
Without students keeping rents high and professors buying houses the bad parts of Evanston and Rogers Park would slowly creep north. There is a clear division in Evanston between east of the El and west of the El. At night you don’t walk west of the El.
Evanston is a parasite making plenty of money from the students yet providing only annoyance and derision.
Comparing state universities to private schools is like comparing Apples to Rocks. Having the full power of the legislature and the governor behind them prevents towns from getting uppity. Most private schools are abused by their surrounding towns.
As for Northwestern “needing” something from Evanston that is also specious. Evanston creates bureaucracy and regulations and Northwestern has to BRIBE them to do their JOB.
I own a small business in Lake County. The village used my business as a cash cow even though what my business does with as the the village lawyer said “well within the zoning regulation” they had written. The COA was overwhelmingly happy with my type of business so the village only did this to extract funds.
Government SERVES the people(corporations). The people don’t SERVE the government yet these towns feel that way.
I am cheering for Evanston to somehow stop the stadium, but even though I am biased I see their concern as entirely disingenuous.