By 1925 the old wooden stands of Northwestern Field had become decayed and had been dwarfed by other stadia, and by the popularity of NU football.  William Dyche, NU's business manager who had overseen the construction of Northwestern Field, proposed a replacement, a stadium of steel and mortar.

THE TIMELINE OF DYCHE / RYAN I

1925

Here is an original plan for Northwestern Stadium.  The new stadium was to be built on the same Central Street location as old Northwestern Field, so the actual playing location would be unchanged.  This initial concept, drawn in 1925, featured towers on both the east and west sides that also served as dramatic archways into the stadium.  The stadium was conceived as the first-ever triple-decked stadium, an architectural feat never before achieved, and would have seated 80,000 fans.


The stadium was designed to mimic the new Soldier Field, and to serve as a "Grant Park Bowl" for the North Shore. 



The budget for the stadium would not allow for north or south stands, nor for a third deck, so in early 1926 the plan for the stadium changed to this concept:





Dyche played host to one NFL game, between the Bears and the Eagles, in 1970. Note the NFL goal posts rigged in front of NU's usual ones.


Dyche Stadium during the 1995 season, its 70th as the Wildcats' home. This photo is from the Wisconsin game, and it shows off the stadium's relatively new AstroTurf. Rather than bleachers, the north end zone by this point was empty (for several years, the Alumni Association kept a reunion tent in the end zone area, as seen here). Note the rickety press box elevator that had been tacked onto the exterior decades earlier.
You can see photographs of the renovation work, as crews lowered the playing field, tore out the old seating, built the new press box, and seeded grass in early 1997.


Ryan Field I, in its final configuration with Walker Terrace north of the field.


Over thirteen years after the major reworking of Dyche Stadium, the university began to discuss possible changes to NU's home field, including reducing the stadium's capacity for a third time in the next round of improvements, likely by knocking out the northeast stands and building coaches' offices, training rooms, or suites.

In August 2010, HailToPurple.com posted a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at what a lakefront stadium might look like.  It turns out that Northwestern actually was considering just such a move!  The University eventually had to reject it based on cost, logistics, and several other reasons.

The University was expected to release its plans for the next Ryan Field renovation in 2014, but instead focused on the lakeside training facility and the recent renovation to Welsh-Ryan Arena.

In September 2021, Northwestern announced a $480 million donation by the Ryan Family, including a portion earmarked for the stadium. The donation kicked off "Rebuild Ryan Field," a multi-year effort to rebuild Northwestern's stadium. A year later, on September 28, 2022, the school unveiled its plans for an $800 million brand new stadium, a lavish state of the art new facility on Central Street.

NU decided that 2023 would be the final season played in the old stadium.