Last week, after many months of discussion and consideration, the Evanston City Council voted to approve Northwestern University’s application to build a new football stadium, as well as a zoning change that will allow, among other things, six concerts a year at the new facility. As mayor, I was the deciding vote to allow this project to move forward.
Throughout my term, I have committed to doing what I believe is best for all of Evanston. Sometimes that’s very easy, and sometimes less so. This process was a difficult one for our whole community with many people expressing strong views on both sides. In the end, I voted “yes” because I believe this project will have a positive long-term impact on the city and its residents. It’s that simple.
The project constitutes a massive $800 million private investment from Northwestern that will create jobs, generate significant revenue for the city and construct a world-class facility. Utilization of the new stadium will bring more people into Evanston — and more revenue from nonresidents — while establishing guardrails to minimize impact on the neighborhood.
No town of our size sees many $800 million investments like this, particularly with a focus on local and minority and women owned businesses where Evanston residents can build careers.
We’re still in a time of dramatic economic change for places like Evanston. Our pre-pandemic retail economy was reliant on a large daily population of office workers, and like all other business districts in that situation, we have not fully recovered. If the recovery we’re looking for means “return our economy to a pre-2020 reality,” that will only happen when in-person work goes back to pre-2020 levels, which I think is probably never.
The city’s own commissioned plan for business district recovery emphasized the need to find ways unrelated to office work to attract people to Evanston through innovative programming, investment in public spaces, and leveraging of existing institutions and traditions. Or, to put it in three words: have more events.
Still, I weighed heavily arguments against the project, especially concerns that it would change the character of the neighborhood, loosen social bonds and potentially decrease property values. Ultimately, I believe that this will not be the case.
Having more events doesn’t just mean bringing more people to Evanston to spend their money. Music is, throughout human history and across cultures and genres, a uniting force that brings people together. Enabling a limited number of concerts in a balanced way, with guardrails in place to minimize the negative impact, can strengthen connections in the neighborhood and beyond.
Let us also remember there’s already a football stadium at 1501 Central Street, and it’s likely to remain there for a long time. What’s currently standing is not in great shape. Replacing it with a world-class facility is a benefit from every standpoint, including aesthetics.
Northwestern’s financial support of Evanston, or lack thereof, has been a point of contention for many decades. This agreement certainly doesn’t put that to rest. But it represents a new chapter in the relationship between our two institutions and the start of a more collaborative conversation going forward. Everyone on the council who voted “yes” drove an extremely hard bargain before doing so, which wound up being enormously helpful to all Evanston residents and taxpayers.
In my heart, I’m a progressive and an optimist. I’m temperamentally inclined to embrace change. I think of myself as a “YIMBY” (“yes in my backyard”). Evanston needs to be willing to embrace change right now. Our economic challenges won’t be solved by staying the same as we’ve always been or trying to return to 2019.
Our progressive values and ambition require funding to realize, and, unless we embrace growth and new ideas, we won’t be able to access that funding without unfairly burdening those who can least afford to pay.
As we move forward, I hope we do so with an open-minded approach, envisioning a future better than our past. This is the future I’ve always strived for in my public service.
Daniel Biss is the mayor of Evanston and a former member of the state House and Senate. A longer note with similarities to this piece was sent by Biss to Evanston residents last week.
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