University of Kansas officials are looking to seize the momentum of a successful football season last year and streamline the transformation of the school’s aging football stadium.
Kansas Athletics formally unveiled designs on Tuesday for a renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. They also announced they’ve raised more than half the money they’re projected to need.
“I think it would be disingenuous to say that without the momentum, and without the success that we’ve had in such a short time frame with Lance and the program, that we’d be here today,” said KU Athletics Director Travis Goff, referring to second-year coach Lance Leipold’s 5-0 start last season.
Though KU finished the year with a 6-7 record and a loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl, it was the Jayhawk’s first bowl game since 2009.
A reworked contract for Leipold, who was Goff’s first major hire as KU athletic director in 2021, paired with his commitment to remain in Lawrence means the coach will be on hand to see upgrades completed in time for the 2025 season.
Built in 1921, Memorial Stadium was the first on-campus stadium west of the Mississippi River.
KU first announced its plans to upgrade the stadium and the northeast corner of 11th and Mississippi streets last year, in conjunction with a first-time appearance by ESPN Gameday — another feather in the cap earned by the Jayhawks’ hot start.
Officials said, over the last 10 months alone, KU has raised $165 million overall. The project is priced at $300 million, which includes $50 million in improvements for Allen Fieldhouse, where the basketball teams play.
Construction is set to begin in December, after the current season has concluded, and will continue through the 2024 season. When the project is complete, seating capacity will be reduced from 47,000 to more than 40,000.
“When I describe it, I think of it as an outdoor Allen Fieldhouse,” said KU Chancellor Doug Girod. “That’s what we’re shooting for: to create that kind of energy for a player in the middle of a game. Talk about a home field advantage — that gives you a home field advantage.”
Outside the stadium, the intersection at 11th and Mississippi streets will also have a new look and layout. Girod and others called it the Gateway District, and it’s expected to include meeting and retail space along with a possible hotel or student housing. KU is currently seeking specific proposals and financial terms from developers.
The corner is largely surrounded by a residential area, and Girod said the university has been discussing infrastructure ideas with the city of Lawrence and neighborhood associations.
“Their issues, when we talk to the neighborhoods, aren’t any different than they are today, which is parking and traffic,” said Girod.
The ballyhooed announcement drew former Jayhawk football players like Chris Harris Jr., who went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos after his 2008 trip to the Orange Bowl.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Harris Jr. “Even as a player, we were like: ‘Man, I can’t wait till we get a new stadium.’”
If all goes to plan, Harris Jr. and thousands of other Jawhawk fans will finally get their wish.
