KU has big plans to turn the domain around its football stadium into a convention and tourism center, but it would possibly be necessary to make its football stadium the smallest of the big 12 to achieve this.
An outside representative hired through the University of Kansas recommends a 55,000-square-foot convention center, a 175-room luxury hotel and even a 2,500-seat concert and event venue for the stadium near 11th and Mississippi streets at the north end of the KU campus.
But experts also proposed that KU has the length of Kansas David Booth Memorial Stadium at 39,839 seats, a drop of just over 7,000 seats from the stadium’s existing official capacity.
The consultant’s recommendations also show that all surface parking and grass-covered area without delay east of the stadium, a prime location for parking and following steps on training days, was removed as part of the new development. The consultant’s recommendations acknowledge that KU will want new parking responses, however, experts said those answers have yet to be determined. The structure of the new parking masses on campus should be considered, a KU official said.
The plans are not final, but they are vital because the consultant’s recommendations are included in a set of documents that KU distributes to the corporations that will bid to the lead developer of the KU portal project, as well as to the corporations that will bid to the new operator. Football stadium, convention center and entertainment venue. KU began soliciting proposals from developers and operators on Thursday.
A KU spokeswoman said the university is willing to cut seats in the stadium because officials are confident that innovations in the stadium, which will be significant and come with high-end seating construction, will result in a much larger experiment. .
Karla Leeper, vice chancellor for strategic communications and public affairs, said the redesigned stadium will bring fans closer to the court, in full view of spectators and significantly replace the venue’s surroundings.
“We’re looking to create a more intimate feeling in the stadium, make it more powerful and improve the quality of the fan experience,” Leeper said.
But a smaller seating capacity will also help KU meet the demanding situations of the domain as it attempts to create a year-round primary destination progression on a small property. The domain open to progression: KU does not open the iconic hill to any progression, it measures less than five acres.
Leeper said it’s vital for KU’s long-term that the Campus Gateway project, as it’s called, discovers the right combination between a high-quality soccer stadium and other amenities that can draw other people to the school throughout the year.
“We love soccer,” Leeper said. We need this soccer stadium to reflect KU’s commitment to athletics and KU’s argument for staying in a Power Five conference. . . But financially, it doesn’t make sense to make this kind of investment in something that is only used seven days a year. Part of this proposal is to identify how to activate this progression 36five days a year.
Leeper said that this is also the reason why KU is the assistance of professional developers.
“It’s helpful to bring in other people who are doing this to make a living and build on their experience,” he said.
Leeper said KU officials are confident that the gateway assignment may be the kind of game-changer for the university that will only bring Lawrence more dollars through conference attendees and tourists, but will also increase the number of potential scholars coming to campus on occasion. or entertainment.
“The possibility or talk about this as an option,” Leeper said. “This is a possibility for this corner of campus. When you get to 11th and Mississippi now, you see a sea of asphalt, then the Campanile. This is a possibility. “take advantage of this corner that has been a bit underutilized and do something special that can benefit the community.
The plans included in KU’s RFPs are the maximum detailed to date for the bridge project. Here’s a look at some of those details:
Improvements to the football stadium would come with more premium seating options, new seating to upgrade bleach-style seating, new restrooms and concession areas, more lobbies, new boards and other amenities. The plans call for over 2500 “club seats”, which are a type of premium seats that would come with more, perhaps concessions and other amenities, as part of your ticket. Plans also call for about 55 new seats on the suite level at the stadium.
With just under 40,000 seats, the renovated stadium would be the smallest in terms of capacity of the existing 12 large ones. The next smallest would be Baylor Stadium with 45,140. in Houston and Cincinnati it’s only a few hundred seats larger than KU’s proposal.
Leeper and experts said smaller stadiums are an industry trend. Baylor has the last stadium in the Big 12. When it built McLane Stadium in 2014, it built the venue with about 5,000 fewer seats than its previous stadium.
Most recently, the state of San Diego, which needs to be a member of the Pac 12 conference, finished its new football stadium last year. The Snapdragon Stadium has a capacity of 35,000, especially below its previous homes.
Consultants from Hunden Strategic Partners told KU that the university would continue to be well served through the smaller capacity stadium. The matching results noted that KU football averaged 26,610 enthusiasts in the 2015-2019 seasons, which was a consistent period of few wins for the team. In 2022, when the soccer program returned to national and bowling-like qualification, the team averaged fewer than 35,000 enthusiasts consistent with the game. While not discussed in the consultant’s report, KU officials at the height of the Mark Mangino era, which included a Victory at the Orange Bowl: touted an average attendance of more than 40,000 enthusiasts depending on the game. In 2006, KU officials announced that the season average was just over 44,000 depending on the game.
– A fan plaza domain would be created just outside the stadium in a component of what is now the east parking lot of the stadium. A smaller plaza would also be created at the south end of the stadium.
— A 55,000-square-foot convention center would be in the north bowl of the football stadium. The center would feature the largest banquet corridor in the city, allowing for events for more than 1,000 people seated. It would also come with around 10 smaller meeting rooms to accommodate a variety of conventions.
— A 175-room luxury hotel would be built next to the convention center. The representative recommends that the hotel be built on the lawn at the southwest corner of 11th and Mississippi streets.
— New student housing construction is proposed near the southeast corner of the football stadium site. The construction would have 425 rooms, some of which would be dedicated to housing members of the football team. Construction would be along Mississippi Street in one component of what is ultimately the stadium’s east parking lot. The construction would be just north of the football team’s educational field.
— Experts proposed that up to 55,000 square feet of commercial and dining land be built in the central part of what is ultimately the stadium’s east parking lot. The construction of retail stores and places to eat would be closer to Mississippi Street than the stadium. The domain between the commercial building/dining venue and the stadium would be the domain of Supporters Square. It has to come with recognizable national brands that are considered as a destination. Experts noted that the growth of shops and restaurants has not been good so far in the domain: the construction of apartments HERE, on the contrary, the stadium has many vacant advertising domains on the ground. floor. Experts said building an active conference and business events will be critical to the good fortune of any retail and good fortune place to eat on site.
— Experts proposed a 2,500-seat concert and entertainment corridor for the project. However, it is not known where this position would be located. It does not appear in the conceptual plan of the site created through the experts, however, it is indexed in the proposals submitted by the experts. The proposal asks proponents how such a facility can be financed and built. Experts said the option of having a facility that can also have a functional outdoor area deserves to be explored.
— Due to the small length of the site, multi-story buildings deserve to be part of the development. The plans imply that none of the buildings will exceed five floors. Consultants said rooftop restaurants and other similar amenities deserve to be explored.
— Approximately 20,000 square feet of work area are proposed for allocation, of which the maximum is intended for the fitnesscare market or other users who have an explicit interest in the site. The recommendations show that a “Kansas Team Health” construction is being built on an existing surface parking lot just southwest of the Anderson Football Complex. Kansas Team Health is a partnership between KU Hospital System and LMH Health. It supplies KU athletes, however, KU leaders have said in the past that the entry assignment may come with a fitness component of care that would serve the university and KU staff, as well as other members of the network.
— About 500 surface parking lots — the maximum of them in the east lot — would be lost in the consultants’ recommendations. Leeper said KU knew it had to take care of parking and that it would be a major focus for the adjacent residential neighborhood, which already sees plenty of parking space on the university’s street.
Leeper said experts did not propose any quick parking solution. Instead, KU needs to listen to the concepts of the progression community. Leeper said the concept of more parking near the stadium or on campus will likely be considered. She said KU demands situations for developers to propose concepts on how the domain can still be a wonderful place to follow closely, although there are fewer masses of parking where it has historically taken position.
— KU created a separate request for proposals similar to parking. KU is looking for a personal company that can manage KU’s entire parking formula, which includes approximately 14,000 spaces throughout the Lawrence campus. One would expect a personal company to locate new efficiencies and generate new revenue. Currently, KU’s parking formula is controlled by a university department. Leeper said KU doesn’t know if KU would decide to work with a personal parking company, but said the time has come to explore the feasibility of such camaraderie.
— Financing features for the project, which is expected to exceed $300 million in total, are still being developed, the representative said. KU has secured more than $85 million in the public budget and a guaranteed counterpart that will come from donors or KU Endowment’s reserves if the donor’s investment does not meet matching requirements. KU is also contemplating asking the legislature for STAR bond funding, which would allow sales taxes generated on the site to be used to cover site costs. This type of special investment was used to build Kansas Speedway and several other tourist-type primary attractions in the state.
– Pedestrian bridge progression is not proposed for the residential neighborhood north of 11th Street (also known as Fambrough Drive near the stadium). But the consultant’s report briefly mentions that this domain may be the one of progression in the future.
“The successful progression of this hall may also lead to other long-term progression opportunities north of 11th Street and west of Mississippi Street, further expanding the campus entrance,” Hunden Strategic Partners experts wrote in their research of the market and impact of the project. .
As reported through the Journal-World, several residential homes near the stadium were sold in recent months to entities known to revel in the progress industry. KU officials said they weren’t making purchases in the residential area, but they also said it may not rule out personal developers looking for their own regression projects to be next to Campus Gateway.
Leeper said this is still the case. He said KU remains the target of assets south of 11th Street, though he said KU is discussing with the city how it can the portion of Mississippi Street that runs from Ninth Street to the football stadium.
Leeper said KU would prioritize informing neighbors about concepts and advancements similar to the Campus Gateway assignment. He said small organization meetings with neighborhood leaders had already begun and larger meetings were planned. An audience is also expected to be presented for the assignment this summer.
The assignment will not be required to go through the general progression approval procedure at Lawrence City Council. The progression is located on land owned by the university, which is subject to a cooperation agreement with the city but is not subject to the city’s progression procedure. Instead, a special committee of representatives of the university, community and people will be created to officially hear the main points of the officially proposed task.
But beyond that group, Leeper said KU is committed to being transparent and communicative in the process of progression.
“We’re going to continue to communicate with them every step of the way,” Leeper said.
KU expects to have an operator for the stadium and convention center decided by September. A parking company, if KU decides to go through this route, will also be decided in September. A lead developer for the assignment will be decided in December, according to KU’s existing schedule.
None of the adjustments to the stadium or parking lot would happen next season. Initial paintings would begin at the convention center and other similar projects would be in December, after the completion of the house’s soccer games.