Since I rarely make the 90-mile journey to Manhattan, I can only imagine what expanded (again) KSU Stadium looks like today.
Back in 1968 when Kansas State's football facility debuted, it looked like they dug a hole, poured concrete on three sides, leveled the cement into terraces, plunked down seats and said, "Play ball."
KSU Stadium was probably the most austere football arena I'd ever seen.
Today, of course, with Kansas State football all the rage, KSU Stadium is no longer a concrete-slab and aluminum-plank mausoleum. A couple of years ago, they put in a real press box -- the old one had been called temporary for more than 25 years -- that contained 23 suites for the passionately deep-pocketed purple faithful.
Not enough. Twenty-three didn't cut it, so K-State built 31 more suites this year. They are not in the press box, though. They're on the east side. Thus KSU Stadium may be the only college football facility in America with the preponderance of its suite-dwellers looking into the sun.
In comparison, Kansas University has 36 suites -- all in the press box on the west side, meaning none will be blistered by the afternoon sun. KU's suites have about 600 seats; K-State's 54 suites have 772 seats -- 276 shaded from the sun and 496 that can't hurt Ray-Ban stock.
Curiously, Kansas State calls its self-contained viewing areas "Sky Suites." Kansas, however, opted for a more academic tone by referring to its enclosed boxes as "Scholarship Suites."
Give the edge to Kansas State for capacity, but toss a rose at Kansas for its semantics and, in a lesser sense, for its non-squint sensibilities.
Kansas State also added thousands of seats on the east side -- enough so that last Saturday's season opener against Temple drew a school-record 50,624 fans.
Another way to look at it: For the first time, Kansas State has a football facility that holds more fans than KU's venerable Memorial Stadium. Officially, KU's capacity is 50,250.
Back in the mid-60s, following an east stands expansion, KU officials announced that Memorial Stadium had 51,500 seats. South end zone bleacher adjustments reduced the total to what it is today.
Meanwhile, over at Missouri -- the other major university in the Kansas City metropolitan area triangle -- plans are under way to build -- you guessed it -- a new press box.
Do I have to tell you Missouri's press box expansion will contain suites? Of course, it will. Current plans call for 35 suites -- one fewer than Kansas and 19 behind Kansas State.
Missouri, as you well know, does not have an in-state rival. There is no Missouri State, so MU folks have always considered Kansas their traditional rival.
Thus, how long will it be before someone over in Columbia realizes MU will have one less suite in its press box than Kansas and demand a restructuring to add at least two more suites in order to one-up the Jayhawks?
By the way, Missouri apparently hasn't come up with a suitable name for its suites. The Columbia Tribune, for instance, has been referring to them as luxury boxes. Arggh. That's what the professional teams call them. Look for Missouri to find an alternative. And quickly.
Missouri's new press box is scheduled for completion in August of 2000. Does that sound familiar? KU's refurbished and expanded press box was scheduled for completion in August. It was, almost " but it took a $300,000 bonus to the construction company to assure it was ready in time for last Saturday's home opener.
Architects on the Missouri press box project have estimated the cost at about $13 million. I'll be darned. That's was KU's press box cost, including the $300,000 "bonus."
Advice to Missouri: Better plan right now on your new press box costing $13.3 million.
-- Chuck Woodling's phone message number is 832-7147. His e-mail address is cwoodling@ljworld.com.
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