🚜HEARINGS: The Latest on Memorial Stadium Renovations

EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

Earlier this month, I asked you what Hearing should come next. The winner was also the hardest one to get solid information on — David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Renovations update.

I’ve annoyed a lot of people to bring you these Hearings. More will surely come. Thank you for voting in the poll and being a part of this KU family. Your input drives my content. I hope you enjoy.

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Here is the very latest on David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium renovations:

• I expect the suites to come down (or be torn up) after this coming season. It sounds like any significant construction on the stadium will come after the 2023-24 campaign.

  • Renovations for the Anderson Family Football Complex will start directly after Spring Football is finished.

• Details on the stadium renovations are limited but finally starting to trickle out. I don't think all key decisions regarding timeline and design have been made yet, which is why information has been hard to gather.

  • AD Travis Goff won’t share much with donors until he knows he can deliver.

    • These Hearings are subject to change as plans are still finalized. Think of this as an update of where I’ve heard the project stands today.

• I've heard there's been a lot of discussion around premium seating. The goal seems to be a variety of seating options for all levels of fans and donors. It appears KU is focusing largely on the social experience of gameday.

  • I’m not sure what KU is going to do with The Hill area. If the Athletic Department truly wants to provide options for ALL fans, I’d think The Hill will be incorporated into this.

• There will be indoor and outdoor premium seating for the stadium. It sounds like a club level would be a part of this.

• Some of the premium outdoor seating may be "loge" style, often priced between club seating and luxury suites.

• I was told to look at TCU's suite renovations, so let's check it out. In 2020, TCU added a club area, loge seating and luxury suites.

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• Fundraising will be a split between State money, Endowment, and Athletics. KU recently won a $50M grant and has an additional $35M in ARPA funding if it wants to use toward the project. I had originally heard KU would get around $100M from the state, and this brings it pretty close to that total.1

  • In addition to the grant, Kansas announced $150M in funds from KU Endowment.

• In total, it appears KU has access to $235M in funding for the project. The remaining $100M+ would mostly come from donations.

• I’ve heard Endowment, Athletics, and The University are on the same page for this project in a way we haven’t really seen before at KU.

• I previously caught wind of some fundraising concerns from donors, but those seem settled now. It may have taken a while for some donors to get used to Goff not showing them anything yet. This Athletic Department is operating differently from previous administrations, and they will not roll out anything they aren't sure they can deliver on.

• I'm expecting a significant capital campaign to launch soon. Football, basketball, and baseball will all be a part of it.

And that’s where the project stands today. Please subscribe and reply to this email if you have additional information on the project. You may also reach out to [email protected] with any anonymous tips.