With David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium undergoing substantial renovation in order to anchor a massive development project expected to open for the 2025 season, the University of Kansas football program had to find alternate locations for their 2024 home games.
As reported by The Associated Press, the Jayhawks have decided to split them, with non-conference games being played at Children’s Mercy Park, the home of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City, and four Big 12 Conference games being played across the state line at the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Both of the stadiums are less than an hour drive from the KU campus in Lawrence.
The school initially thought it could play part of the season at Memorial Stadium while construction was ongoing, but that did not prove to be feasible, the AP's Dave Skretta reported.
“While we are disappointed we can’t play in Lawrence, ultimately, we want to create the best possible experience for all involved,” Jayhawks athletic director Travis Goff said. “This decision allows that construction to continue on a necessary timeline while also benefiting the overall budget of the project and the 2024 fan experience.”
The Jayhawks will play Lindenwood and UNLV at the soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, but the much smaller capacity of about 18,500 means that only season-ticket holders will be admitted to those games. No individual tickets will be sold for those games.
Their Big 12 games scheduled for Arrowhead Stadium will be against Texas Christian, Houston, Iowa State and Colorado.
“I’m confident our fans will be able to create a home field that our players will be energized to play in,” said Kansas coach Lance Leipold, who led the Jayhawks to a 9-4 record with a victory over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl this past season.
The new stadium is the centerpiece of a new campus gateway that will include multi-use spaces designed to generate revenue throughout the year. That includes a conference center, dining and retail space, office space and housing.
“While we had hoped to play these games in Lawrence, the move to alternate venues is needed to ensure that our fans, student-athletes and all constituents have the best possible gameday experience and that we stay on schedule to complete construction for the 2025 season,” Kansas chancellor Doug Girod said. “We recognize this move is not ideal for some members of the Lawrence community, and we hope they will understand this is a necessary one-year move to ensure the Gateway District can begin benefitting Lawrence as soon as possible in 2025.”
