Northern Star Online: One Soldier Field game expected to net seven figures

Great exposure, a great recruiting tool and a great opportunity is how NIU Athletic Director Jim Phillips described the Huskies season opener against Iowa at Soldier Field.

There may also be over one million other great reasons for NIU’s experience at Solider Field.

“I don’t know [the exact amount], but I think it’s going to be in the seven figures,” Phillips said of the revenue from the game. “What was generated out of this one game at Solider Field we can’t do in a year at Huskie Stadium.”

The exact revenue will not be known until the rental fees and other costs can be subtracted from the final total that was brought in, but Phillips was confident it would be in the seven figure range.

No plans have been made for the expenditure of the money. There are several options which Phillips will have to examine once the time is right.

“It’s like anything else, you’ve got $20 in your pocket and you can spend it in eight different ways,” the athletic director said. “I think we are going to have to assess that and see what’s the best way and where do we need some support.”

Some potential destinations for the money include paying off the final expenses from the brand new Jeffery and Kimberly Yordon Center.

The athletic department is still trying to raise a little less than $1 million dollars to finish the project. This extra expenditure was due to the purchase of all new weight equipment, computers and other resources.

“We’re still trying to raise a little under a million dollars because we did it the right way,” Phillips said. “We didn’t take any of old weight room equipment. We didn’t take any of our academic computers from our former place. We just tried to bring everything over brand new, state of the art. Once we get that raised we’re going to turn our attention to the our next capital project.”

When asked if NIU would look to play at Solider Field again, Phillips said he would have to look back at the details from this game first.

The athletic director deemed last weekend’s game as NIU’s “test pilot” at Solider Field, and before he again commits the Huskies to Chicago, he wants to examine several factors such as the date and opponent.

“The question I ask myself is can you pull this off in the middle of October, or end of November, or beginning of November, or end of September? Does the date have a lot to do with it as well? Does it make it convenient for people to come on Labor Day weekend?” Phillips said. “I think we have to be strategic about it. I don’t think you just can’t do it with any team or any opponent, and you’ve got to answer those questions – date, opponent, and all the rest.”