How Wrigley will work for Illini-NU football game
Some people look at Wrigley Field's lush grass and manicured infield and wonder why anyone wants to play football there.
After all, those acres haven't been transformed into a gridiron since the Bears left the Friendly Confines after the 1970 season.
Until now.
"I get the questions all the time about 'Why?' " said Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips. "I think the question is 'Why not? Why not bring football back to this historic stadium?' "
Operating with that twist on George Bernard Shaw's words in mind, Northwestern and the Cubs unveiled the details to the first "Northwestern Classic" on Friday. Illinois and Northwestern will meet at 11 a.m. on Nov. 20 in the first college game at Wrigley since DePaul played there in 1938.
It took nearly two years for Phillips and Cubs boss Crane Kenney, among others, to line up everything for this Big Ten game, which will be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The most important issue? With new seats near home plate, there was no guarantee a field would fit.
The Bears used to play from the first-base dugout out to left field. The Illini and Wildcats will play on a field stretching from the third-base dugout to right field.
"That took a majority of the time," Phillips said, "to make sure we talked to the right field managers and risk managers and field engineers and facility staff and other facilities we looked at (that were) comparable that maybe had some issues and some hot spots throughout the field.
"We both feel terrific about where that ended up, because that was done independently."
Northwestern plans to sell 38,000 seats for the event. While it won't be a part of the Wildcats' season-ticket package, only season-ticket holders have the chance to dip into the school's reported 30,000-seat allotment.
The Cubs are taking 5,000 tickets as part of their deal while Illinois gets 3,000 seats.
Prices range from $50-$150 for the first Illini-Wildcats contest at Wrigley since 1923, when a sophomore named Red Grange led Illinois to a 29-0 victory.
Parking and concessions will be handled just like a Cubs game.