Kansas Jayhawks Ace Stadium Renovation Plan Reveal: 17 Days
On "a day that's going to go down in history", the Kansas Jayhawks unveiled the latest plans for the renovation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium today. In front of a full crowd, Athletic Director Travis Goff detailed the vision for an updated stadium and the new direction for the program, with the help numerous guests, including University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, head coach Lance Leipold, major donor David Booth, current running back and Lawrence native Devin Neal and former Kansas Football great Chris Harris. Multiple other big names were in attendance.
You can get a full rundown of the renovation plans at the website for The Gateway District, and the athletic department website has a full replay of the festivities available. But there were a few takeaways from the event that I couldn't help but highlight:
Student Impact
There was a lot of talk about the impact that these renovations will have on the community and the university, but it was great to see the highlight of how this will change the experience for both current and future students and student-athletes.
After the renovations and the construction of The Gateway District, this will serve as the starting point for campus tours, and it isn't hard to see why. In the past (both when I went on a campus tour and when my own son went just this year), both the stadium and the area around it was almost an afterthought, with most of the information shared referring to the history of the building as a memorial. To be able to build that excitement with a state-of-the-art multi-use space will be a great way to start that experience.
And of course, the additional renovations for the Anderson Family Football Complex will be a huge boost for the athletes. The players already had a great reaction to the early updates to the locker room and weight room, and Leipold spoke about how important it was to emphasize some updates for those players. The further upgrades are extensive, with new and/or improved spaces for team-building events, sports medicine and content creation all housed in the complex. It will be a big boon for the program and really help to solidify the commitment to investment in the program.
Premium Experience
A lot of football fans were rightfully eager to see what the renovation plans meant for the stadium experience. As we've seen and heard many times in the last few years, the current amenities are outdated, and the facilities are fairly run down and in need of improvement. Even the premium options lag well behind those of the other Big 12 members.
Included in the updates are some things that fans have been asking for repeatedly in recent years:
- Larger seats/more legroom
- Seats closer to the field, with the first row of seating elevated four feet higher
- More/Better spacing of restrooms
- More (4x) food and beverage offerings
- New premium seating and social zones
- Improved seating and sightlines, especially for accessible seating
It will obviously be important to see what the final product is, but this is a huge upgrade that should bring Kansas into the same area as the rest of the Power Five.
Preserving and Enhancing Culture
The biggest worry that I personally had was that the new stadium was going to get rid of whatever charm the old building had, with nothing new to reflect the heritage of the program. I think it is safe to say those fears were unfounded.
From embracing the various iterations of the Jayhawk (that Warhawk on the scoreboard in the renderings seems intentional), to trying new things to highlight that culture, it's clear that this project was just as much about showing everyone what the University of Kansas is about as it is upgrading facilities. I'm not sure how well they will be received, but the lights as stalks of wheat is an intriguing idea that fully embraces the Kansas spirit.
There are still a lot of details that have to be worked out, but it's hard to find fault with any portion of this unveiling. Now let's hope that the second part is just as amazing.
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