Say goodbye to iconic college football stadium with phase two of rebuild officially underway

Lawrence, KS — The landscape surrounding David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is changing by the day. Kansas Athletics announced Monday that Phase 2 of the Jayhawks’ $450 million reconstruction project is officially underway, signaling another dramatic step in the transformation of the seventh-oldest college football venue in the United States.

Crews have begun demolishing the stadium’s east stand, the last major portion of the original 1921 structure still in place. Social-media footage posted by the program showed hydraulic shears biting through concrete and steel as the east sideline was leveled to make way for a modern mixed-use district that athletic officials are calling “the Gateway District.”

Phase 1, completed last August, saw the west and north stands razed and replaced, while a new conference center was added to the north end zone. With that work finished, attention now turns to the east side, where designers envision a sleek new seating bowl, a full-service hotel, and additional student-housing towers. The project also calls for upgraded seating options throughout the venue and more than 1,000 new parking spaces to offset the permanent closure of three existing lots.

University officials have warned fans that the east stand is unlikely to be ready for the 2026 season, meaning the Jayhawks are preparing to host home games with a reduced capacity for at least one fall campaign. The timeline has not deterred athletic department leadership, who view the overhaul as essential to keeping Kansas competitive in the Big 12 and attractive to future recruits.

When complete, the reimagined David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium will anchor a year-round destination district intended to serve students, visitors, and Lawrence residents alike. For now, the sounds of construction will replace the roar of fall Saturdays as crews push toward the next milestone in one of college football’s most ambitious facility overhauls.