Tickets to Northwestern's stadium opener plummet 25%

Field Level Media
02 Oct 2026, 22:25 GMT+10

(Photo credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The get-in price for the Chicago area's newest stadium has mellowed just hours before the venue will stage its first signature event.

Northwestern will play its first football game at the program's new $875-million stadium just off campus when the Wildcats face Penn State on Friday night at Evanston, Ill.

And while the cheapest ticket was as high as $299 on Sept. 2, and $154 on Monday, get-in price reached $100 on Thursday and was at $108 on Friday afternoon, according to ticketdata.com. The site says ticket prices have dropped 25% in three days.

The Wildcats are 2-1 on the season, while losing their Big Ten Conference opener at Indiana 29-23 last Friday. Penn State is 3-1 on the season, dropping their Big Ten opener 24-20 at home against Wisconsin on Saturday.

According to the ticket-selling website seatgeek.com, ticket prices often drop following an initial hype surge. A ticket price decrease can come in the weeks, days and hours before an event when pricing is adjusted 'based on actual demand.'

After playing their first two games of the season at their temporary on-campus stadium along Lake Michigan, Northwestern will play five games this season at the new Ryan Field, counting Friday night's debut. Home games remain against Ball State (Oct. 10), Rutgers (Oct. 24), Iowa (Nov. 7) and Illinois (Nov. 28).

The new Ryan Field, with an attendance capacity of 35,000, was built on the site of the former stadium, which sits 2 miles northwest of the heart of campus. It is the smallest football stadium in the Big Ten. The original Ryan Field had a final capacity of 47,000.

--Field Level Media

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