Field of Broken Dreams is an Evanstonian production.

On Sept. 28, 2022, Northwestern announced plans to renovate Ryan Field. Since those plans were announced, host of The Field of Broken Dreams Mack Jones has been reporting on what he thought would be a similar story about a college field renovation that has turned out to be anything but.

In 1996, right around the last time the idea of improving Ryan Field came up in discussions around Northwestern and Evanston, that year's version of Wildcat football captured the heart of the town on its way to the grand-daddy of them all—the Rose Bowl.

There are many spaces across Evanston that have been fertile soil for debates between the city and Northwestern, but some would say there's been no greater example of the city existing at the university's whims than Ryan Field.

In many ways, a stadium is a reflection of the team that plays on its field. And in the case of Northwestern and Ryan Field, that reflection currently isn't the most flattering.

Money is king, and nothing brings the king to town like football. Northwestern is betting that a new stadium might make those visits more valuable, but and many Evanston business owners agree.

Until 1972, Evanston was a dry town. Over 50 years later, as Northwestern has attempted to start selling alcohol at sporting events to help its bottom line, there is still a vocal set of Evanstonians who want Northwestern sporting events to stay dry.

Most stadiums sit vacant more often than not. As Northwestern plans to find ways to put Ryan Field to use more frequently, opponents of additional events see plenty of issues with the proposal.