Evanston Braces For Friday Night Northwestern-Ohio State Game

EVANSTON, IL — In just the second-ever Friday football night game in the history of Ryan Field, Northwestern University is hosting Ohio State in a rematch of last year's Big Ten Championship game. City and university officials have been preparing all year for major disruptions to weeknight traffic in Evanston, especially in the Central Street area.

Staff from Northwestern's athletics department have held several meetings since February with representatives of Evanston, the police and fire departments, local schools, NorthShore Evanston Hospital, Canal Shores Golf Course, the Central Street Business Association and others, according to 7th Ward Ald. Eleanor Revelle.

At noon, gameday parking rates start on Poplar Avenue. St. Athanasius School plans an early dismissal at 1:30 p.m. And starting at 3:30 p.m., parking on Central Street east of Green Bay Road will be restricted, parking lots at Ryan Field will open for tailgating and the first, second, third, 11th and 12th holes at Canal Shores will be open for parking and tailgating, according to a timeline provided by Revelle.

Noisy, temporary lights powered by generators will be set up in tailgating areas and will remain on after the game as the crowd heads out, Revelle said in her ward newsletter. Arrangements have been made for people who normally park at Ryan Field on weeknights so that they can park elsewhere.

The east golf lot at Canal Shores, with an entrance southwest of the intersection of Isabella Street and Girard Avenue, will be available for parking on a first-come, first-served basis, university officials said in a series of answers to frequently asked questions. Fan shuttles will begin running at 3:30 p.m. from campus and downtown Evanston, and on-campus parking will be free after 4 p.m.

The CTA Purple Line will also have additional service for the game. Trains will be expanded to six cars from 4:30 p.m. to midnight and will come every eight minutes from 9:30 p.m. to midnight.

Evanston police will reverse the traffic flow on Ashland Avenue to make it one-way northbound between Lincoln and Central street, as the department does for all home games. There will also be a large contingent of Evanston police in the area.

Cmdr. Ryan Glew recommended anyone with appointments at Evanston Hospital Friday afternoon give themselves extra time for transit.

"Basically, if you're going anywhere in the area, you need to allow for more time," Glew said.

Northwestern's athletic department has no record of any previous Friday night game at Ryan Field, according to university spokesperson Jon Yates. He said there may have been a Wildcats game on a Friday night in 1894 — more than three decades before the field was built. (Update: An unofficial Northwestern Wildcat football website pointed out a game in September 1944 was actually played on a Friday, despite some records indicating it took place the following day.)

In a statement, university officials said the athletics department, city transportation staff and administrators of the nearby hospital have worked to ensure emergency vehicles and hospital personnel "are able to perform the necessary tasks to keep the local community safe."

School officials pointed out the date and time was determined by the Big Ten Conference and apologized for the inconvenience caused by the "foreseeable congestion caused by the intersection of weekday activities and the ingress of 47,000 fans to Ryan Field."

After the Oct. 18 Ohio State game was announced last December, Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald told the Chicago Tribune he was not pleased about the scheduling decision, which was made by Big Ten Conference officials to maximize television revenue.

"This one was out of our control," Fitzgerald said. "Didn’t get a vote on this. I understand why we're doing this, but it does not make me happy. I still fundamentally believe that Fridays are for high school football."

The game will not be airing on Fox Sports 1, where it was originally scheduled to have been broadcast, or on the main Fox network, which is scheduled to air professional wrestling at the time. Instead, due to the postponement the American League Championship Series baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, the Ohio State-Northwestern matchup has been moved to the Big Ten Network.

UPDATE

Friday night's game will now air on @BigTenNetwork.#B1GCats x #GoCats pic.twitter.com/t3l7B7uxMj
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) October 16, 2019

Jim Philips, Northwestern athletic director, told the Tribune that all members of a conference must abide by what was agreed in the most recent media rights deal, regardless of whether school officials would rather play on Saturdays.

"So if the TV partners want to move it from Saturday to Friday, we willingly accept that and will be excited about it," he told the paper last December.

Ryan Field could soon see more weeknight events. Northwestern is seeking an amendment to the city's zoning code to allow it to hold up to 13 additional events there, including professional sporting events and concerts. City code currently limits events to school athletic events, convocations and up to seven temporary events that must be nonprofit and attended by no more than 10,000 people.

The university is seeking to raise that limit and allow for-profit events. Some neighbors have organized to oppose the change. Last month, the plan commission voted 4-2 to recommend allowing the revision. The matter is set to be on the agenda of the City Council's Planning and Development Committee Oct. 28.