Northwestern University is an asset to Evanston, no doubt. And that’s been the case since the institution opened there in 1851.
But the private university has also benefited immensely over the past 170 years from being located in Evanston — a beautiful, leafy city on the prosperous and well-educated North Shore — building itself a striking 240-acre campus, most of it along the picturesque lakefront.
These are all good things to keep in mind as a big powerful university seeks to demolish its stadium, Ryan Field, and replace it with one that can host Big Ten football games, six concerts annually and community events.
In exchange for city approval and new zoning that would allow the concerts, Northwestern is offering Evanston $100 million over the next decade under a voluntary agreement.
But a coalition of residents and some elected officials want a better and legally binding deal in exchange for city approval of the planned expansion.
They deserve one. And a university with a $14 billion endowment that is looking to spend $800 million to renovate Ryan Field is more than able to provide it.
The university’s $100 million offer tied to the city improving stadium improvements and rezoning sounds generous.
But it is less so, when you consider the cash would be doled out by Northwestern over a decade and includes at least $5.3 million the university currently pays Evanston under various existing deals, including $2.03 million for metered water and sewer use, and almost a $1 million in parking tax revue collected on behalf of the city.
The $100 million includes some good things, such as yearly $3 million donations to Evanston’s Good Neighbor Fund — the amount is currently $1 million. Northwestern also said it would donate $2 million a year in financial aid for Evanston high school students for the next decade.
But given the stadium’s location in a residential neighborhood where parking is a premium and event traffic is already an absolute pain, might there be other things the university can put into an actual community benefits agreement that would make things better for residents and the city?
This editorial board believes the stadium plan, if executed well, could be good for Evanston.
But a legally binding community agreement would list that good and put it into law, requiring the university to deliver on what it says, rather than just promise.
And we think it is worth talking about and hammering out, even if it means delaying the Evanston City Council’s Nov. 13 approval vote to get it done.
Evanston and Northwestern have been partners for almost 200 years. But the best partnerships are when both sides benefit equally.
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