Northwestern’s Ryan Field opened its doors to the public for the first time on Saturday. The $875 million stadium – the most expensive in college football history – played host to the Wildcats’ 34-14 victory over Penn State in Week 4. Ryan Field welcomed fans to the 35,000-seater stadium for the first time against Penn StateGettyThe 35,000-seater amphitheatre, which includes a 2,000-capacity student section called the ‘Wildcat Wall’ – which adopts a “European-football style” was sold out.But to those watching on television from home, the lower bowl of the smallest stadium in the Big Ten Conference in particular looked far from being at full capacity, especially as the game went on into its latter stages. “Why is Ryan Field like half empty Opening night in a brand new stadium and you can’t fill every seat?” one user posted to X (formerly Twitter). This tweet was enough for Pat Ryan – the stadium’s namesake – himself to reply and explain what was really going on.View Tweet: https://t.co/tZqZ1HrMKB“We sold out Monday- even had to issue SRO tickets to meet demand. Didn’t see it coming tbh: our concourses are open & overlook the field,” Ryan responded.“They turned into giant bars with people hanging out watching the game there together live. “Clubs were also packed w/ people watching the game.”This would make sense, with a Northwestern press release last month detailing that the “concourses that open directly to the bowl, the result is simple: fans can grab food and drinks without missing a play.”The benefits of concourses overlooking the fieldQuite a few stadiums around the United States have concourses that look out directly onto the field of play, such as MLS outfit LA Galaxy, who play at Dignity Health Sports Park. It encourages fans to be able to eat and drink, as well as socialize more freely with each other, whilst still being able to witness the action, providing a more entertaining atmosphere, and bringing in additional revenue. The Wildcats put on a show at their new homeGettyThe atmosphere from the fans was described as ‘electric’ by head coach David BraunGettyThis is something that Wildcats head coach David Braun can entirely understand. “I’ve stood up in that concourse, and I can’t blame someone for saying, ‘Hey, I just grabbed a beverage and a bite to eat, and I’m talking with someone that’s in a different seat, and I still got a great view of the game,” Braun said. “You can still be completely engaged and a participant in the game from those areas.“I just want to make sure that our fans feel like they are active participants in the game and impacting the outcome of the game. “And whether you’re doing that from a front-row seat or from the concourse or whatever it looks like, what I do know is when that place is rocking on third and fourth down when we’re on defense, it helps us win football games.”Despite fans flocking to the concourses, Braun still described the atmosphere at Ryan Field as “electric.”Nonetheless, he pointed out that there was still room for improvement relating to how the crowd can impact decisions made on the field, such as forcing false starts or offsides just by creating an atmosphere that overwhelms the visiting team. He added, “If we’re going to be objective with our football team and evaluate everything objectively, I thought Friday night was a great start, and I think we have room to ramp it up that much more.”Join talkSPORT’s dedicated US Sports YouTube channel The S* Word every Tuesday and Thursday for our brand new NFL shows.On Tuesdays, Will Gavin and US senior reporter Brian T. Smith will debate the biggest talking points from the NFL weekend, while on Thursdays Efe Obada joins the crew to talk to players past and present and break down what to look for across the league.