Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell discusses playing in Northwestern’s temporary pop-up stadium

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is not concerned with the context or the setting surrounding his team’s trip to Evanston, Illinois to face the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday.

That setting: Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium — a temporary facility built for the 2024 and 2025 seasons as Northwestern completes construction on the new Ryan Field.

Related: What Northwestern head coach David Braun said about Wisconsin football, Phil Longo and QB Braedyn Locke

For Badgers fans who haven’t followed this story, that means the days of a 3/4-empty Ryan Field with ankle-long grass are in the past. Wisconsin’s final game in that building was its 42-7 win over the Wildcats in 2022, Jim Leonhard’s first game as interim head coach.

Northwestern has since moved to this temporary setup. It is 2-2 in the new building this season with wins over Miami (OH) and Eastern Illinois, and losses to Duke and Indiana. Saturday will actually be the final game played there this season, as the Wildcats will move to play the remainder of its home games at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Here is a look at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, a 12,000-seat practice field with one sideline abutting Lake Michigan.

Aug 31, 2024; Evanston, Illinois, USA; A general view of the temporary Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium where the Northwestern Wildcats will play the Miami (Oh) Redhawks in a football game. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Fickell was asked about playing in the unique setting during his media availability this week. He did not want to buy into the new stadium as any significant storylines.

“Wherever they ask us to play or tell us to play, we’ll play,” Fickell said. “If it’s a parking lot, we’ll play in a parking lot. I don’t think we got a whole lot to say after how we performed and how we played [against…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wisconsin-coach-luke-fickell-discusses-185205623.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-16 18:52:05

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