Northwestern Tailgating at Ryan Field: Lots, Times & Rules

Can't miss

Chicago chefs on the grounds The Great Chicago Food Festival sets up six concepts from Chicago chefs and restaurant groups right on the stadium grounds, and the lineup changes game to game. Eat there once even if you brought a grill.
A freshly painted Rock If you ride the free shuttle from campus, walk past The Rock first: student groups guard it for 24 hours to earn the right to paint it overnight, so whatever's on it this week went up in the dark.

Quick answers

When do the Ryan Field lots and shuttles open?

The free campus and downtown shuttles start 3 hours before kickoff, and gates and the Great Chicago Food Festival open 2 hours before. For the Oct. 2 opener, the surface lots opened 4 hours before kickoff and the garages 3.

Can you tailgate at Ryan Field?

Parking at Ryan Field is reserved for season ticket holders, and Northwestern says traditional tailgating will continue. For everyone else, the festival grounds around the stadium are the tailgate: the Great Big Ten Grillout and a tailgating plaza built for tailgating without setup.

Can you drink at Ryan Field?

Northwestern and the venue don't post a lot alcohol rule. Inside, it's 21 and over with ID, 2 drinks per transaction, and sales stop at the start of the 4th quarter. Outside alcohol can't come into the stadium.

Do you need a ticket to tailgate at Ryan Field?

For the festival grounds, yes: access to the Great Chicago Food Festival comes with every game ticket, and you pay for what you eat and drink. Entry is through the New Ryan Field app only, and screenshots aren't accepted.

How do you buy parking for Northwestern games?

Ryan Field's own lots are for season ticket holders. Single-game parking on Northwestern's campus and in downtown Evanston is sold on JustPark, with free shuttles to the stadium. Canal Shores golf course parking is gone, and neighborhood street parking is banned on game days.

Getting in

Ryan Field is a park-and-ride stadium for most fans. Don't drive straight to it.

Stadium lots: Purple, Gold, Platinum, Isabella and East Stadium Parking, reserved for season ticket holders.
Campus lots: Single-game parking on Northwestern's campus on JustPark. The Campus Shuttle runs from Sheridan Rd and the South Campus garage.
Downtown lots: Downtown Evanston garages on JustPark. The Downtown Shuttle stops at Chicago & Church, Orrington & Davis and Maple Ave.
Shuttles: Free, from 3 hours before kickoff, dropping off and picking up along Ashland Ave. One ADA-accessible shuttle per route.
Rideshare: Haven Middle School, 2417 Prairie Ave, is the only spot the city allows. A free shuttle runs there after the game.
Accessible: ADA drop-off on Ashland at Gate 2, loading only. The whole site is at grade, with no separate accessible route needed.

See the official Ryan Field parking map

Neighborhood street parking is banned from 2 hours before to 1 hour after events this size, and the west side of Asbury Ave from Central to Isabella is a tow zone.
Northwestern played its first two 2026 home games at Martin Stadium on the lakefront. Everything left on the 2026 schedule is at Ryan Field.
No car? Metra's UP North line stops at Central Street, about a 5-minute walk from the gates, and the CTA Purple Line's Central station is a few blocks east. CTA Bus 201 stops in front of the stadium. Bikes get a free valet just north of it: hand your bike over with your mobile number and a text is your claim check. Helmets are stored, backpacks aren't, and the Divvy e-bike area is just south.
Flying in? From O'Hare, take the Blue Line to the Red Line at Jackson, then the Purple Line at Howard and exit at Central. From Midway, take the Orange Line to the Red Line to the Purple Line.

The rules

Rules last verified Oct 28, 2026 against newryanfield.com, nusports.com, northwestern.edu, cityofevanston.org and the Chicago Sun-Times (Oct. 2, 2026).

The rules here are mostly about getting in. These are the ones that hold every game.

Grills: No grill rule posted for the stadium lots. The Grillout on the festival grounds does the grilling for everyone else.
Alcohol: Inside: 21 and over with ID, 2 per transaction, last call at the start of the 4th quarter. No outside alcohol in.
Parking: Stadium lots for season ticket holders only. Annual Ryan Field permits don't count on game days, and violators can be towed.
Streets: No event-day parking in the surrounding neighborhoods, from 2 hours before to 1 hour after.
Not allowed: Drones over the stadium, lots and roads. Smoking or vaping anywhere on the grounds.
Your ticket: New Ryan Field app only. Screenshots don't scan, and the venue is cashless, parking included.
Bags at the gate: One bag up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, no clear bag needed. No backpacks of any size, no hard cases.
Gates open: 2 hours before kickoff. No re-entry.

Compare the rules in all 173 guides →

Before you go

New Ryan Field: Getting Here New Ryan Field: Getting In Great Chicago Food Festival and Big Ten Grillout Northwestern game day parking policy Evanston District 6 event parking

Official pages. Rules change; check them the week of the game.

Pack for Evanston

What we'd bring.

Ultralight Tall-Back Camp Chair
$45

Ships free

Ryan Field sits about a mile from Lake Michigan, and in November the wind off the lake finds the shuttle line before it finds the stadium.

Shipping and returns

Where the party is

The new Ryan Field is wrapped in 200,000 square feet of festival grounds, and Northwestern built the pregame into them: Chicago chefs in the Village, a grillout open to both fan bases, and a plaza for tailgating without hauling a thing. At 35,000 seats it is the smallest stadium in the Big Ten, and it opened 100 years to the day after Northwestern's old stadium debuted on Oct. 2, 1926, the Sun-Times reported.

The open grill

The Great Big Ten Grillout

An on-site tailgate on the festival grounds with fire-grilled burgers, BBQ chicken and sweet corn, plus rotating Big Ten and Chicago tailgate dishes. Open to home and visiting fans.

The food hall

The Village and Great Hall

Six pavilions from Chicago chefs and an open-air beer hall at the north end. Opens 2 hours before kickoff and runs through the game. Entry comes with your ticket; food and drink are extra.

The no-setup tailgate

The tailgating plaza

Northwestern bills it as tailgating without setup, with community or catered options.

Know a setup worth showing off? Nominate your tailgate.

What to eat

Cook thisTurkey pesto ciabatta

Getting out

Getting out of Evanston means rails, shuttles or patience. Your options, best first:

Take the train. Metra's Central Street station is about 5 minutes from the gates, and Northwestern has asked Metra and the CTA for special trains with a free ride home.
Ride the shuttle back. Campus and Downtown shuttles pick up along Ashland Ave after the game.
Shuttle to rideshare. A free postgame shuttle runs to Haven Middle School, the only rideshare pickup the city allows.
Skip this
Walk to your car at the final whistle. Then wait out the street restrictions, which last an hour after the game.