The University of Kansas is in the process of building a new football stadium. The stadium plans were announced in August of 2023 and the renovations will include a new stadium and an expansion called The Gateway District. The expansion of the area will include a new conference center, retail and dining venues and facilities that will enable multi-use and year-round use.
Once the construction is finished, KU will have a stadium that accurately represents the uprising of their football team, but the construction poses challenges for students, faculty and residents that live around the construction site.
The construction started right after the football team’s last home game in November. The original opening date is set to be in August 2025, just in time for the 2025 football season, and an executive decision was made for where the team will play for their 2024 season. The team’s temporary homes were announced on January 30th, stating that the first two home games will be held at Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting Kansas City, and the other 4 home games will be held at Arrowhead Stadium, the famous home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The location change for the season is an exciting one, but potentially creates problems for the students wanting to attend the games.
Arrowhead and Children’s Mercy Park are about 30 to 45 minutes away from campus, depending on the location. This poses a challenge for students and how they will be transporting to the games. The university has talked about the potential of providing transportation for students, talking about a shuttle system to and from the stadiums. Some students are all for it, but some have mixed feelings.
Hannah Gutherie, a student and avid KU football fan, says that she is “having mixed feelings about the 2024 season. It will be fun to be in Kansas City for home games and potentially check out the city after, but part of the team spirit at games is being at our stadium near campus.”
Another impact that construction is having on people is the disruption that it is causing in surrounding neighborhoods and even on campus. Both students and residents in the area are complaining about the loud noise and the fact that construction has been going late into the night. Student and nearby resident, Sara Heggemann says that she lives right by the stadium and that some night she can hear construction until two o’clock in the morning.
The construction has been the primary reason for multiple road closures around the site. At the beginning of the construction process in December, two major roads, Fambrough Drive and Fambrough Way, were closed. Since then, there have been many temporary semi-road closures or full road closures, resulting in traffic problems. Though these roads may not be the busiest, they are close to campus and essential for commuting students.
The biggest impact for 2024 graduates is how the construction of the stadium will affect the students’ commencement and graduation ceremonies. Though the University has confirmed that the ceremonies will still be held at the stadium, it will still be under partial construction. Many of the 2024 graduates were also in the high school graduating class that was affected by the pandemic in 2020, so the announcement of graduation being at the deconstructed stadium was a letdown for many students.
Though the negative impacts of the construction seem overarching, there are many benefits of the new district when construction is finished. The project is estimated to create 2600 jobs, from direct and indirect employment. It is also projected to generate around $2 billion in direct and indirect spending over the first 30 years.
Along with economic benefits, advancements to the stadium bring multiple benefits to game attendees. Some of these advancements have been confirmed by the Gateway District website and include more leg room for seating, an increase in area per seat, larger videoboards that are closer to the field, chairback seating for the west and north seating areas.
The Gateway District’s website has more detailed descriptions about the project plans, economic impact, history of the stadium and more. You can read more about the Gateway District and the new David Booth Memorial Stadium here.
Rendering of the sky view of the Gateway District and renovated David Booth Memorial Stadium. Photo from Gateway District Webstie.
Rendering of inside of David Booth Memorial Stadium. Photo from Gateway District Webstie.
Rendering of the entrance of District and renovated David Booth Memorial Stadium. Photo from Gateway District Webstie.