Members of Lawrence’s Sesquicentennial Commission want to give Lawrence a present for its 150th birthday next year — a large plaza telling the city’s history.

Landplan Engineering in Kansas City, Mo., unveiled its preliminary plans at a meeting Wednesday, though the plaza’s location near Clinton Lake and its cost — likely more than $500,000 — left members wanting more information before making a firm commitment on the project.

“This is like a work in progress,” said Mary Burchill, who leads the committee examining the plaza. “It’s not set in stone or concrete or anything.”

Burchill said the plaza would leave a “lasting legacy” after the birthday celebrations, similar to how Centennial Park was the legacy of Lawrence’s 100th birthday in 1954.

The plaza is part of a 20-year plan the city of Lawrence has developed for 1,515 acres it leases east of Clinton Lake. The plaza would be northwest of the current off-leash dog park.

Preliminary plans call for the plaza to be 160 feet in diameter, about twice the size of the plaza in front of the Lawrence Visitor Center. The area around the plaza would have 150 “elements” — likely sections of a wall — that would tell about Lawrence history. Burchill said organizations could sponsor sections to help with fund raising.

Half the area inside the plaza would be landscaped, and the other half would be a small amphitheater that would allow presentations on Douglas County history, said Doug Pickert, landscape architecture manager for Landplan.

Plans call for a 5,000-seat amphitheater adjacent to the Sesquicentennial Plaza, with parking on the east. Other long-range plans on the 1,515 acres include hiking and biking trails, soccer fields, a community gathering hall, playground, disc golf course and covered pavilion/skating rink.

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“We wanted to put this (plaza) in a place where there would be a lot of secondary visits,” Pickert said. “We didn’t want to put it off where it would take a special trip.”

Some in attendance questioned the location of the plaza.

“Where will we put the emphasis for our 150th birthday?” Lawrence resident Marci Francisco asked. “Is it at the center of town or the edge? It’s not easily accessible.”

Burchill said the committee wanted to have the plaza closer to downtown, but “we couldn’t find space.”

“Everybody wanted something in South Park,” she said. “Poor ol’ South Park isn’t that big. We’re running out of space.”

The cost also may be a challenge. Pickert declined to speculate how much the project would cost, but City Manager Mike Wildgen said the plaza alone likely would cost between $500,000 and $1 million.

“That’s a big, big project,” he said, noting the Sesquicentennial Commission members also are planning to raise $750,000 as they bid to play host to a 2004 presidential debate.

Pickert said his firm would determine a cost estimate for the plaza and report back to the Sesquicentennial Commission.

Burchill said she’d like to break ground on the plaza in fall 2004.

The sesquicentennial of Lawrence’s founding is Sept. 18, 2004.