Evanston Township High School's athletics staff walked through the $875 million new Ryan Field on Tuesday, July 7, getting their first look at the venue where the Wildkits will face New Trier on Friday, October 16.

The ETHS coaching staff toured the nearly complete stadium as guests of Pat Ryan Jr., CEO of Ryan Sports Development and the lead developer behind the project. The ETHS athletics department called the visit "absolutely incredible" in a post on X, adding that the October game "will be a phenomenal experience for our football players, students and community."

Pat Ryan Jr. and his team showed the ETHS group around and discussed plans for the rivalry game, according to the post from the @ETHSports account.

The ETHS-New Trier matchup will be one of the first events at the new stadium after Northwestern's nationally televised opener against Penn State on Friday, October 2. That opener marks exactly 100 years to the day the original stadium hosted its first football game in 1926. The high school rivalry game, two weeks later, will be played rent-free as part of Northwestern's commitment to make the facility a community asset.

ETHS Athletic Director Chris Livatino has been building anticipation since a May 26 press conference announcing the arrangement. "In 143 days, Evanston will be competing with New Trier in Illinois' greatest rivalry, in college football's greatest arena," Livatino said at the event.

The rivalry stretches back to 1913, with more than 100 prior meetings. Evanston leads the all-time series, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Ryan Field sits along the border between Evanston and Wilmette, and Livatino noted the location means everyone wearing orange and green can experience the game firsthand in a first-class environment.

The new venue bears little resemblance to its predecessor. Pat Ryan Jr. has called it "the first NFL-type stadium in college football," with 35,000 seats, each equipped with an armrest, cupholder, and canopy cover. The 320,000-square-foot building also features a 2,000-student "Wildcat Wall" safe-standing section in the south end zone, built at a 33-degree slope. Ryan Jr. said Evanston residents and local high school workers will have access to a discounted ticket program.

As of late June, construction crews had installed the turf playing surface, with more than 1,000 workers on site daily finishing the final phases. Ryan Jr. told the Chicago Tribune on June 30 that the structure is complete and crews are "closing up all the interior spaces."

The ETHS-New Trier game kicks off a slate of rent-free high school and community events at the stadium. Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena will also host the ETHS-New Trier men's and women's basketball games during the 2026-27 season as part of the same initiative.

New Trier football player Peter Cusick, 17, captured the stakes at the May 26 press conference: "The fact that I'll be playing in a college stadium is crazy. I'm mostly looking forward to seeing all the kids out there in the stands."