Deny Request For Ryan Field Concerts, Land Use Commission Recommends

EVANSTON, IL — Land use commissioners voted to recommend the Evanston City Council reject Northwestern University's proposal to allow concerts at Ryan Field.

After about 15 hours of public hearings on the proposal, commissioners unanimously approved Northwestern's plan to demolish and rebuild the stadium with a smaller capacity.

But the commission voted 7-2 against a proposed zoning text amendment that would have allowed up to six publicly facing concerts and an additional 25 university-related outdoor events.

Both votes are non-binding, with the commission's mixed recommendation set to accompany the proposal when it heads to a future the City Council's Planning and Development Committee.

Architect George Kisiel, who presented the proposals on behalf of the university, said the Evanston City Code says zoning amendments should only be considered in light of changed conditions and changes in public policy.

"In this case, the change in condition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace an aging and obsolete structure with a state-of-the-art accessible facility with greater functionality suitable for hosting events beyond the traditional football use," Kisiel said.

Northwestern representatives have said Ryan Field is in a state of disrepair and needs to be replaced. While a $480 million donation from the family foundation of billionaire Pat Ryan has been earmarked for the stadium, university officials have asserted that it will not build a new stadium unless they get permission to host commercial events there.

Dave Davis, Northwestern's executive director of neighborhood and community relations, said the university was balancing the desires of residents who wanted more concerts with those who wanted fewer. He emphasized that the university only uses Ryan Field for 2 percent of the year — though current zoning allows for more — and suggested holding large-scale commercial concerts there would be an environmentally friendly move.

"This level of usage isn't just an operational inefficiency, it's a missed opportunity in the context of sustainable development and responsible land use, especially in a community like Evanston," Davis said. "Maximizing the use of Ryan Field isn't mere about deriving more economic benefits from it, it's about optimizing our community's resources and respecting our environmental and social responsibility."

Though the city and university have yet to negotiate a memorandum of understanding that would regulate its use of the field, Davis said Northwestern has already guaranteed a one-time $10 million payment to the city, $500,000 a year to local public school districts from a concert ticket surcharge and a guarantee of at least $2 million a year in tax revenue.

"The stadium project as proposed is inextricably linked to the approval of the text amendment that permits a limited number of concerts," Davis said. "This project cannot and will not move forward without this approval."

According to Northwestern Chief Operating Officer Luke Figora, the university estimates that it will cost about $3 million a year to maintain the new stadium. He said currently the university aims to spend more than $30 million a year on capital infrastructure on its $6 billion in assets.

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Figora said there was no precise number as to how much the stadium upkeep would cost, but the inclusion of revenue from concerts is a "key component" for making it work.

"So if you were not to get the concerts you would not do the project?" asked Commissioner John Hewko.

"Correct," Figora said.

"You'd walk away from the $400 million gift and all that? OK," said Hewko, one of the two commissioner to vote in favor of the text amendment.

Hewko said Northwestern representatives would be more convincing if they focused on all the benefits of bringing more concerts to town.

"I think for a university with a operating budget of over $2 billion to stand up and sort of say with a straight face, 'Gee, that added $2 million is going to break the bank and we're walking,' I don't find that a terribly credible argument," he said.

And, Hewko said, the argument that the Ryan family made their record-breaking donation contingent on the addition of concerts at the site "kind of strains credulity as well — that someone who'se been such a generous benefactor to the university is going to put up $400 million is going to fold his tent because of a $2 million revenue shortfall."

Commissioner George Halik asked Northwestern representatives why they can't find other revenue sources to cover their operating expenses, citing testimony of the university's $15.4 billion endowment, its $139 million in annual operating surplus and the money it rakes in from the Big Ten Conference — currently about $60 million a year and in two years set to jump to $80 million to $100 million.

"It's not just about the money," said Katie Janke Dale, a real estate lawyer from the firm DLA Piper hired by the university.

"It's about activating this more than seven days a year," she said.

Halik pointed out the university can "activate" the stadium now. Current zoning allows the university to use the stadium for other non-professional sports and to hold concerts with up to 10,000 people inside the enclosed Welsh-Ryan Arena.

"It seems to be a little disingenuous," Halik said. "Because you're saying, 'Oh well, if you give us this, then we'll activate the stadium.'"

Since 1971, Northwestern has tried five times to hold professional commercial events at Ryan Field, with the City Council rejecting it each of those times, Halik said, saying that he hopes the current slate of alderpeople follows the trend.

"I'm still not convinced why these concerts are necessary, it seems to me that there are other sources of funds, and when you consider the neighborhood, 5-1, does not want these concerts, I think our job is to listen," Halik said, noting that he considered the position of university officials that the stadium rebuild is contingent on a zoning change to allow commercial activity there is "not an appropriate attitude."

"These people bought their homes knowing about the football games, they did not know about concerts. And I think it's a big deal to go to a commercial venue on a university property," he said.

"The residents, they didn't buy into this. They bought their homes thinking that they're going to have football games, and all of a sudden, 'Oh my God, we have concerts, I have two little kids, they can't sleep at night because of the sounds coming from concerts.' That doesn't make sense to me. That's just not appropriate."

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Commissioner Jeanne Lindwall said she was unable to support the text amendment in its current form. She said the construction of a new stadium was expected to take about three years anyway, so there is plenty of time to debate the specifics of zoning changes.

"In some respects, the text amendment is really problematic at this juncture," Lindwall said. "I understand the university wanting to have some certainty as to whether or not they'll be allowed to have concerts, but I would also suggest that there're probably other activities for the stadium that don't have the same impact as concerts."

Lindwall said it was difficult to imagine how Northwestern, with an undergraduate enrollment of about 7,500, needs to host concerts for 28,500 attendees for academic reasons.

"It's hard to see what public-facing, large-capacity concerts have to do with the educational mission of the university," she said. "Concerts targeted to students and other members of the university community are already permitted at Welsh Ryan with a capacity of just over 7,000."

Commissioner Brian Johnson said it was a close call, but he ultimately voted against the amendment.

"I find the rationale that's been presented for having the concerts to be unconvincing," Johnson said. "And I find the arguments on both sides as far as the benefits versus the negative implications of the concerts — the overall net impact to the city and to the neighborhood seem to be a wash, at best."

Also voting against the amendment was Commissioner Kiril Mirintchev.

"I am afraid that this text amendment will open the door to many consequences and unforeseen things that will not be in benefit to the city and to the surrounding neighborhood," Mirintchev said, suggesting the amendment does not improve on current regulations.

"Certain things are, I would say, concealed," he said, "and it does not bring more clarity to what will be the content and what will happen with this facility."

But Commissioner Myrna Arevalo joined Hewko in voting in favor of the text amendment.

"I am a concertgoer, I don't believe that the effects of noise and other consequences will affect the neighborhood as much as they actually think it will affect them," Arevalo said.

"That being said, music is one thing that brings people together, it doesn't matter what language you speak, it doesn't matter what race you are, music will always bring people together," she said. "That's one thing that should be considered. "

David DeCarlo, president of the Most Livable City Association, a group of residents opposed to the commercial rezoning of Ryan Field, issued a statement after the vote.

"We're pleased the Land Use Commission rejected Northwestern's plan to impose radical change on residential neighborhoods," DeCarlo said.

"When questioned last night by Commissioners, University officials struggled to articulate why the cash-flush school needs to turn Ryan Field and its other athletic facilities into a commercial entertainment complex," he added. "The commissioners wisely recognized this — as well as the costs it would impose on the community — and voted the proposal down."

A Northwestern spokesperson said university officials were hopeful that the City Council would approve the zoning change despite the Land Use Commission's recommendation against it.

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