EVANSTON — Northwestern football's new outdoor practice field located off the shore of Lake Michigan is nearing completion. Here is a photo taken of the new turf Monday:
The building seen in the picture to the west of the field is not an athletics building, it's the Kellogg School of Management's Global Hub.
The only thing holding up the completion of the new football practice field, Hutcheson Field, is an issue with the south end zone:
If construction on the end zone finishes up before the end of spring practice (April 9), Northwestern may soon practice on Hutcheson Field for the first time.
The north end zone borders the south end of Martin Stadium, the new home of Northwestern lacrosse and soccer. Construction workers are still putting the finishing touches on a few aspects of the complex:
Here's a view from the north:
Northwestern lacrosse opens its home slate on Tuesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. vs. Marquette, and the program expects to play the game at Martin Stadium. A Northwestern Athletics spokesperson told Inside NU Monday that "work continues on a variety of elements around the site, but the venue is expected to be operational on March 8."
The program tweeted out a picture of the scoreboard from the inside on Monday:
The new scoreboard at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium looks great. Only 8 days until the #B1GCats home opener. pic.twitter.com/iiUrxiLIil
— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) February 29, 2016
The lights also came on for the first time Monday night:
Photo: Northwestern Athletics
Here are a few more pictures of the two fields:
Photos, unless otherwise noted: Henry Bushnell
Northwestern Athletics also released a video last week that features a virtual look inside the to-be-completed Ryan Fieldhouse: