After nearly 20,000 sold, tickets to New Trier-Evanston at Ryan Field are gone — for now

A local high school football game is the hottest ticket in town. And if you don’t have yours yet, all hope may not be lost.

As of press time Monday afternoon, tickets to the New Trier-vs-Evanston game on Friday, Oct. 16, at Northwestern’s new Ryan Field are no longer available; however, Augie Fontanetta, New Trier athletic director, told The Record that school officials are working with NU to open up more sections of the stadium for the game and, thus, more tickets

Fontanetta said more than 19,000 tickets have sold for the special rivalry game, and while nothing is yet guaranteed, NU is open to meeting continued demand.

Northwestern Athletics did not return The Record’s messages by press time.

“Everyone was caught a little by surprise (by the demand). We knew there would be interest, but this is significant,” Fontanetta said, later adding, “I am shocked at the number (of tickets sold) right now. It’s an awesome problem to have. Everybody has been working together to solve the issues, and it’s been fun.”

Evanston Athletic Director Chris Livatino echoed Fontanetta’s sentiment and said Northwestern officials seemed optimistic about the likelihood of more tickets becoming available.

The brand new stadium has only hosted two games thus far and NU must figure out staffing and other logistical concerns before releasing more tickets, he said.

“Just under 20,000 (tickets) is remarkable,” Livatino said. “It speaks to the significance of what this rivalry means to the communities of both of our schools and it also speaks to the interest everyone has in this stadium and the excitement they feel of having an arena like this in our backyard.”

High school and NU officials announced in May that New Trier and Evanston high schools’ annual rivalry game would be just the third football game played at the rebuilt Ryan Field.

After months of anticipation and promotions, tickets to the game were made available beginning Saturday, Oct. 10, via TicketMaster. Immediate demand on the site caused hiccups, delaying the sales; however, by Monday morning more than 19,000 tickets were sold and sales were cut off.

Student tickets go for $10 before taxes and fees, while general admission is $15 and premium seating $50.

For updates and more information on the game, New Trier has a dedicated webpage, as does ETHS.

New Trier and Evanston high schools have competed on a football field (sometimes twice a year) since 1913. In that time, Evanston holds a slim advantage with 57 wins to 54. The teams have tied six times.

Recent showdowns of the historic rivalry have lived up to its billing, too. The teams have split the last four matchups. New Trier bested the Wildkits in 2025 and 2022, while Evanston came out on top during both the 2024 and 2023 seasons.

The Week 9 matchup at Ryan Field will be New Trier’s final game of both its 2026 regular season and its conference slate. New Trier is 7-1 and 2-0 in the Central Suburban League South Division, while Evanston is 5-3 and 0-2 in the CSL South.

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