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The opening of the new Welsh-Ryan Arena in the fall of 2018 brings a state-of-the-art arena to the North Shore of Chicago. Serving as a leader in ADA accessibility and a gem in the Big Ten, Welsh-Ryan Arena provides a new home for Wildcats hoops that reflects the passion of our fans.

Additionally, Welsh-Ryan Arena will be a leader in ADA seating and accommodations. There will be five elevators in the facility and each section of the arena has ADA seating included. There are 103 lower bowl ADA seats and an additional 56 in the upper level.

In order to make these improvements, we have had to reconfigure the seating configuration to accommodate for the chair-back seats, increased legroom, ADA seats and other upgrades. This means that each Northwestern fan will have the opportunity to select a new seating location for the 2018-19 basketball season.

To view the new seating map, please click here to learn more about the seat selection process.

New amenities include:

  • Chair-back seats throughout the facility, with the exception of the student sections
  • Increased legroom between the seats
  • Wider concourses
  • Nearly triple the number of restrooms
  • Reduced steepness of stairs and adding handrails
  • Triple the number of concession point of sale stands