Billionaire shaking up NFL and college football by building two new stadiums worth $4bn

Having the most expensive stadium in the history of college football on your resume would be enough for most men, but Pat Ryan had grander designs.

The insurance mogul has a fortune worth $7.1 billion, per Forbes, and has used his clout to assemble a portfolio of sports teams.

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Ryan is a trustee at Northwestern, with both the Wildcats’ current home, Ryan Field, and future stadium named after him.

The Ryan family is also a minority owner of the NFL‘s Chicago Bears and holds a stake in the English Premier League club AFC Bournemouth.

All three teams Ryan is involved in have a state-of-the-art new home in the works.

The Wildcats have nearly completed an $862 million arena, although delays mean it will not be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

The CEO of Ryan Sports Development told Front Office Sports that the 35,000-seat stadium had already been revised before they broke ground after demolition delays.

“When we originally had the plan, we hoped to have the stadium done for the first week of the season,” he said. “We had an extended political process to get approvals, and so by the time we got approvals, the original demolition date, December 6, [2023], was already past.

“And so when we started demolition on February 14, [2024], the delivery date, the target delivery date, was mid-September [2026].”

An October 2 clash with Penn State — the Wildcats’ first home Big Ten showdown — is now being targeted.

It will be the smallest in the Big Ten with a 35,000-capacity.

Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and Ohio Stadium in Ohio are all in college football‘s 100,000 club.

No expense has been spared on fan experience, however, with notes taken on stunning stadiums across the NFL and Premier League.

What will Northwestern’s new stadium look like?

The seating uses the same architectural innovation as the $2 billion Intuit Dome, with one seating area starting just 90 feet away from the field.

Ryan’s family donated $480 million to the funding of the new stadium, with the rest coming through other private backers.

“Our worst seat in this stadium is 100 feet closer to the field than the most expensive seat at the Big House (Michigan Stadium),” he explained. “You’re building things up and cantilevering them over instead of going out.

“It’s structurally much more challenging from an engineering perspective, but you’ve got to create better-than-TV sightlines.

“A lot of people look at first-of-its-kind and say, ‘Oh, it’s just a mini NFL stadium,’ but it’s really something specific for college.

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“Every college we’ve seen has said, ‘We know we need to think about doing something like this, but somebody needed to go first.’

“Everybody else is saying, ‘We’re going to watch closely, and if it works, we’ll come see it.”

Chicago Bears abandoning NFL’s oldest stadium

The Bears aren’t as far down the line, but hope to have a new home by 2029.

A relocation from Soldier Field is expected with a $3.2 billion stadium proposed as part of a $5 billion development on the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse.

The NFL franchise planned to cover the cost of the stadium, but expected local lawmakers to cover infrastructure.

Illinois lawmakers are set to vote on funding when the legislature returns in April with a decision expected soon.

“We’re in an excellent position,” CEO Kevin Warren said Wednesday at the NFL’s league meetings. “I recently said that the target is to make sure that we have a decision made by springtime here soon. Late spring, early summer would be that from a target.”

Chairman George H. McCaskey added: “I’ve said to our family, ‘We need to be patient and let the deal come to us.

“We think a deal will materialize somewhere. We’re comfortable with either site. We have people at the Bears working with public servants in both Indiana and Illinois trying to get this done.”

Bournemouth stadium takes huge leap forward

Planning permission has been granted for a $120 million project to almost double Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium‘s capacity from 11,300 seats to over 20,000.

Currently the smallest arena in Premier League history, the increased capacity will help the club compete against the giants of English football.

The permission has been described as an ‘important milestone in the club’s long-term vision for redevelopment and future expansion.’

Approved works will deliver improvements to the stadium’s infrastructure and match day experience, with the installation of a new perimeter fence and turnstiles, as well as revisions to pedestrian and cycle routes around the ground.

Bournemouth added that they are now ‘laying the groundwork’ for future phases of the club’s ‘ambitious’ redevelopment plans.

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