If Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino has his way, the Jayhawks will be spending a lot more time at Memorial Stadium in the future.

Mangino said Tuesday during his weekly news conference that he wants KU to build a new football complex at the stadium.

“I’m not talking about something that has to be ready for next season, but something in the future that will be done,” the first-year head coach said. “We can use it not only for logistics but as a recruiting tool. I’m really looking forward to taking on that project.”

Logistics have been a problem for KU during a wet fall season. The Jayhawks have practiced often at the stadium instead of the grass practice fields behind Anschutz Sports Pavilion during rainy weather. The time it takes the team to load buses and drive to and from the stadium counts against the NCAA limit of 20 hours per week that players can be involved in athletic-related activities.

Mangino would like to move his staff to the stadium and conduct the majority of his practices there.

“It makes sense for football to be there,” senior associate athletics director Richard Konzem said.

Office space

KU is studying the feasibility of the project from space and monetary standpoints. The athletic department has not yet established a price tag or a timeline for the upgrades, but KU officials are excited about what the complex would create for the entire department.

Moving the football team out of its offices in Parrott Complex would open newer, nicer offices and meeting rooms to other teams. The football offices were spruced up during the offseason at a cost of $159,100, including new paint, carpet and furniture.

“We clearly have a need for space for other sports,” Konzem said. “We still have sports that are in the cubbyholes under stairwells in Allen Fieldhouse.”

Moving the football offices won’t require a new building. When Memorial Stadium was expanded in the 1960s, concrete columns were built under the stands to support the new upper levels. If KU goes ahead with its plan, football offices would be built into that infrastructure.

Kansas Junior Zach Dyer works out with the quarterbacks. Dyer, who was the Jayhawks' starting quarterback to open the season before being moved to safety, might be called upon to call the signals again this Saturday against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks were preparing to play the Cowboys on Tuesday at the football practice fields. Related story on page 3C.

“The great thing is, you’re not out there looking for new land,” Konzem said. “A lot of people have gone into the networks of their stadiums where you have those structures and finished those out and built offices, meeting rooms and all that, so it’s not an unusual deal. It’s not like building a stand-alone building.”

Konzem, a student manager under track coach Bob Timmons in the 1970s, said expanding the stadium was not a new idea.

“I had those discussions with Bob Timmons,” he said. “Timmy was an idea guy. I can remember 25 years ago talking about that. As you look at the need for offices, you look at your stadium because you’ve already got your structure there.”

Future expansion

There was a time when college football coaches wouldn’t have considered practicing every day on artificial turf. Early synthetic fields were too hard and often blamed for injuries.

KU officials said that wasn’t a concern with Memorial Stadium’s AstroPlay surface, installed in 2000.

“This has pretty much eliminated the injury factor, so you can practice on it all the time,” Konzem said.

If the football team quits using practice fields, it would open that land for other projects.

“There might come a time when we look at adding another building similar to Anschutz where you move your track into that building and have your indoor tennis courts in the middle,” Konzem said.

KU’s tennis team has been without an indoor practice facility since Alvamar Racquet Club closed this year, and the Jayhawks have used Wood Valley Racquet Club in Topeka.

Meanwhile, the track team is waiting for the artificial turf to be removed from the track in Anschutz :quot; which should happen next week after the football season ends. But if Mangino builds a bowl-quality program, the turf could cover the running surface as late as December or January in future seasons.

“Anschutz is a wonderful building,” Konzem said. “The multi-sport aspect of it is tremendous. The usage of it is amazing. When we built that building, we didn’t have soccer. Now we have a lot of pressure on that building, especially with the turf down because that eliminated the indoor track part of it.”

Track safe … for now

Kansas is the only Big 12 Conference team with a track in its football stadium, and many KU football fans would like to see the track removed. The trend in college sports is to build smaller, track-only facilities.

KU officials have considered removing the track and lowering the football field. The result would move fans closer to the field and create a better home-field advantage. It also would allow Kansas to add more seats.

“I don’t think that’s in the short-term plan at all,” Konzem said.

Mangino has been in Lawrence for less than a year, but he understands Kansas track supporters are clearly against the idea of moving their team to another facility. He also knows his football team has averaged only 37,800 fans for five home games in a 50,250-seat stadium.

“I’m a lousy politician,” he said. “I’m not touching that track with a 10-foot pole.”

“The KU Relays are a source of pride here. I know it’s important to the university and to the community. For right now, that track is fine. When we have a great demand for tickets and people are knocking our doors down, then we’ll discuss the track issue. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not touching that right now.

“We have to prove we can fill our stadium week after week and have great demand for tickets. Then we’ll deal with that issue when it comes.”