Ryan Field panel reports progress but no resolution on noise, other issues

With four football games under their belts and only one left this year, city and Northwestern University officials reported making progress on noise and other operational issues at the new Ryan Field, though members of the town-gown Community Advisory Council still had problems to work through Wednesday in their last meeting of the year. The group has met throughout 2026 to prepare for the stadium’s opening, developing and tweaking operational plans focused on security, sustainability and transportation. Convening again in the Council Chambers at Morton City Hall Wednesday evening, the panel reviewed the stadium’s performance at Northwestern’s two home games since their last meeting, against Rutgers University on Oct. 24 and the University of Iowa on Nov. 7. previous coverage Ryan Field advisory panel takes final huddle on stadium plans before kickoff by Alex Harrison August 27th, 2026 August 27th, 2026 NU debuts new Ryan Field with packed house, big ceremony — and a Wildcats win by Alex Harrison October 2nd, 2026 October 3rd, 2026 Ryan Field advisers want tighter sound restrictions after first two games by Alex Harrison October 15th, 2026 October 15th, 2026 Northwestern’s final home game this season will be against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Nov. 28. That matchup is both the Wildcats’ rivalry game and Senior Night, though attendance could be dampened because it falls over Thanksgiving break. Councilmember Parielle Davis, whose Seventh Ward includes the stadium, opened the meeting by sharing the results of an online survey she sent through a ward newsletter Monday. The survey asked nearby residents how different stadium issues have changed since the start of the season, and at the end asked for their confidence in the stadium’s trajectory heading into future events, including the six public concerts per year that Northwestern will host starting in 2027. “Sixty-seven percent of people are confident or somewhat confident, and we only have 10% that are not confident at all, which is great,” Councilmember Davis said. “I think that’s a testament to everyone on this advisory council doing a great job.” The first concerts are expected to be held sometime this coming summer, with no new information shared at Wednesday’s meeting. Although a standing item for “concert operations plan brainstorming” was on the agenda, the group ran out of time to talk about it. City Manager Luke Stowe told the RoundTable after the meeting that he’s started early discussions with the university about what that concert plan could look like. ‘Significant improvement’ on PA volume, says city manager The positive feedback continued when the panel discussed the stadium’s amplified sound, which was the leading problem in their last meeting following the first two games. Stowe said noise levels outside the stadium have made “significant improvement for neighbors” after a simple change in the middle of the Rutgers game: turning down the PA system volume. “Most of the complaints that I was receiving was really about the PA announcer for games one, two and the first half of game three,” Stowe said, “and then at halftime a major adjustment was made, which significantly improved the second half of that game and then also the Iowa game.” He added that a neighbor directly east of the stadium allowed the city to install sound monitoring equipment, but after this didn’t perform well, he plans to find “higher-level, commercial grade” equipment to try out during the Illinois game. Asked when Northwestern will install its own sound monitors, NU community liaison Dave Davis said they will be in place before the first concert is held next year. When the panel revisited a proposal to prohibit amplified sound any earlier than two hours before kickoff, when the stadium opens to attendees, Dave Davis said he “can’t support a hard time frame” that limits any special events before games in the future. His one exception is to not start amplified sound any earlier than 9:30 a.m. for games that kick off at 11 a.m., which the group voted to recommend in its previous meeting. “If it’s something that we agree to, we want to make sure that we adhere to it,” NU’s Davis said. “I can’t give you a specific event today, but I do know there might be a unique situation that comes up a year from now where we might need to, for example, play music two hours and 20 minutes before a game. And so I just can’t agree to restrict ourselves in that way.” The issue was left without a vote from panel members. Since the group is only advisory, any policies it votes to recommend are taken as direction for Stowe and NU to pursue and negotiate separately, rather than binding rules. Turning the lights off Another sticking point was stadium lights remaining on outside active hours, or even all night in some cases. Resident Kathy Tisdahl, who lives just east of the stadium, said during public comment that the overnight lights “shine into our bedroom,” and later showed a video she recorded showing lights on in the east parking lot and along the side of the stadium. Panel member Fiona McCarthy said lights inside the stadium are visible from Central Street, and expressed frustration that little progress had been made since the issue was discussed at the group’s previous meeting. She suggested fining Northwestern if improvements aren’t made by the end of the week, which Councilmember Davis cautioned was outside the advisory group’s jurisdiction. “When I drive home tonight, I will take pictures for you, and I will email them to you,” McCarthy told Bryce Hollweg, the stadium’s general manager with operating firm Oak View Group. “At some point, this is no longer acceptable. The stadium has been operational for a long time now.” Hollweg said at the last meeting that the stadium’s automated systems were not fully operational yet, preventing remote lighting control. Asked if there’s a policy in place for lighting shutoffs, he said he and Stowe “need to discuss what that looks like,” especially for the specific lights causing issues. “I don’t think we’re going to come up with a plan in two days,” Hollweg said. But he and Stowe will identify “which lights are turned off, which lights are dimmed, at what time, on what days of the week, event days and non-event days.” Waiting for a net-zero plan Toward the end of the meeting, Councilmember Davis grilled Northwestern and Oak View Group on a less visible issue: the stadium’s plan, or current lack thereof, for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, which the 2023 ordinance approving the stadium specifically calls for. previous coverage Environment Board says Ryan Field sustainability plan needs work by Igor Studenkov July 25th, 2026 July 25th, 2026 Hollweg said he had no update on the timeline for delivering that plan, and Oak View Vice President Michael Ahearn said the company hasn’t had the time or resources to work on it while “solely focused” on activating the stadium for its first five games. Councilmember Davis responded she’s “not going to accept” that explanation given the resources poured into the $875 million stadium. “I don’t understand what more you need in order to feel like we’re being reasonable and meeting you halfway,” she said. “If you don’t care about the environment, just say that.” “Nobody’s saying that,” Ahearn responded. “But your actions are,” Councilmember Davis said. Ultimately, Dave Davis committed to bringing Northwestern, Oak View and city officials together next week to review what’s required. After that, he said he would provide Councilmember Davis with a time frame for completing a full net-zero plan. She agreed to that proposal, adding she would follow up with all three parties “next Friday at 5 p.m.” Related Stories