Northwestern Announces Changes, Additions to Lakefront Stadium Experience

Northwestern is heading into its second and final season playing at its unique, lakefront stadium on campus before the new Ryan Field officially opens in 2026.

This week, the athletic department put out a press release announcing changes and additions coming to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium and its surrounding fan-areas.

Everything in the announcement seems tailored towards improving the fan experience based on last year's results.

Perhaps the most notable addition is a new "multi-level bar and beverage structure" in the beer garden area near the south end zone.

As per the press release, the beer garden will now serve brunch-themed options like mimosas and Bloody Marys for daytime Saturday games.

Continuing on cocessions, the food options within the stadium itself are also expanding.

"Wildcat Sweets" is a new stand in the northeast part of the stadium serving up funnel cakes, candy and other dessert options.

Additionally, Northwestern is adding a smashburger to its menu in the South Concessions Pavilion called the "NU Stacked Smashburger" and an unspecified sandwich called the "Wildcat Melt." Students should be prepared for a slightly different student section.

It will still be located in the north endzone, but it's shifting closer towards where the players run onto the field and closer to the Northwestern sideline.

The press release says this decision was made with the intent of giving students a better spot to cheer on the Wildcats throughout the game.

Gates will also open earlier this season per the release, but it didn't specify exactly when that will be.

That information is surely coming soon, but the school is clearly hoping to attract more fans to its overall gameday experience outside of just the game itself.

In that vein, shuttle services are expanding to help folks get to the stadium.

There's limited parking on campus, so one difficulty with this whole set up is transporting fans to the lakefront.

This year, shuttles will stretch all the way to Ryan Field's West Lot to assist fans parking far away.

Last season, audio quality in the stadium wasn't the greatest at times, but it's a difficult thing to master in a setting with that much wind and so few stands to trap noise.

Northwestern says its worked to improve the situation.

"For all fans, the audio/visual experience will be improved this fall.

A new distributed sound system and improved in-venue video quality will add to the intimate setting at Martin Stadium in every corner of the venue, while still delivering the big-game energy of Big Ten football," the release said.

Read More Northwestern Wildcats Coverage.

This article has been shared from the original article on si, here is the link to the original article.