ARMOUR SQUARE — Football will soon make its debut at U.S. Cellular Field.
Marking the first football game hosted at the neighborhood ballpark during its 25-year history, Northern Illinois will play Toledo on Nov. 9, according to Lou Bertuca, CEO of Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the agency that owns the stadium.
The game will be televised on ESPN, and Bertuca expects fans to pack The Cell, which can hold about 40,000 people. In Chicago, he said, there are more than 140,000 NIU alumni.
Bertuca said the NIU-Toledo game is the first of many non-baseball events to come.
“This is the first shoe to drop,” he said.
Tickets go on sale Aug. 1, priced from $45-$65. NIU students can get into the game free and buy guest tickets for $22.
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