Don’t look now, but some big-time renovations are in full swing at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Demolition of key segments of the University of Kansas’ football stadium started right after the Jayhawks’ final home game, against K-State on Nov. 18.
The stadium’s facelift is important for coach Lance Leipold’s football program. The Jayhawks went 8-4 this season and will play UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 26.
The renovations — part of the $300 million “Gateway Project” that includes improvements at Allen Fieldhouse — are currently in “phase one,” wherein the southwest, west and north sides of the stadium are undergoing upgrades. Those alterations include a new conference center on the north end and expansion of the Anderson Family Football Complex.
In August, KU unveiled a new locker room and training facility, as well.
“This project is vital to the continued growth of our program …” Leipold said then. “The substantial upgrades to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and Anderson Family Football Complex will greatly enhance the student-athlete experience. I am very much looking forward to seeing that come to life.”
The stadium upgrades are said to include chair-back seating; a video board that is two-and-a-half times bigger than the one it’s replacing; a 50% increase in area per seat; four times as many food and beverage offerings; and more bathrooms.
Construction for phase one is scheduled for completion by 2025. Seating capacity will be reduced during the 2024 season, but games will still be played there. KU fans can track the ongoing construction via a live camera.
Fambrough Drive and Fambrough Way will be closed to vehicles until Jan. 19. Drivers who use Fambrough Drive — which runs east and west to the north of the stadium — will be detoured to Ninth Street, according to the release.
Meanwhile, those who typically access Parking Lot 59 via Fambrough Way, which runs north and south between the stadium and indoor practice facility, can access the lot via a driveway at the corner of Fambrough Drive and Missouri Street.
KU athletic director Travis Goff said the stadium’s new look will match the high expectations that have been cultivated around the resurgent football team.
“The cumulative impact of a world-class football operations complex and one of the finest game-day venues in the country catapults Kansas Football, and our entire athletics program, into this critical next chapter,” Goff said earlier this year.
”We have a proud history, but this unprecedented investment makes a powerful statement about an even brighter future and provides far-reaching impact for our university community, fans and football program.”
