Bill Clinton won’t be speaking Friday at the Lied Center, after all. He’ll be at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We’re hoping that everybody who wants in will be able to get in,” said Jonathan Earle, an assistant history professor at Kansas University who’s helping coordinate the former president’s appearance for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.

The Lied Center seats about 1,900; Allen Fieldhouse, which seats 16,300 for basketball, will accommodate about 12,000 for the speech, KU officials estimated.

Officials agreed to the change in venues after several students filed protests with Clinton’s office in New York and Bob Dole’s office in Washington, D.C.

About 3,000 people — students, mostly — spent several hours Wednesday morning waiting for tickets to hear Clinton give the inaugural Dole Lecture at the Lied Center, only to learn that just 700 tickets were available. The remaining 1,200 had been set aside for Dole Institute donors, university officials, student leaders, the Governor’s Office, state legislators and media.

“I’m not saying this happened because of me, but I called Dole’s office and told a staffer there what had happened, and she said she would speak to the senator about it,” said Josh Kaplan, a four-year member of the Kansas University Student Senate. “She was definitely interested in what we had to say.”

Kaplan, an Overland Park senior, said he and other students were upset over KU and Dole Institute officials denying requests for a larger venue.

“We just didn’t think it was right to have 3,000 people show up in the rain for 700 tickets. That didn’t seem to meet the goal of Dole Institute, which is to get people interested and involved in politics — not to turn them away,” said Ashlee Reid, a KU senior from Dallas and a student senator.

Attempts to reach Dole’s and Clinton’s offices for comment Friday were unsuccessful.

“I’m sorry, but everybody here is tied up with the World War II Memorial dedication,” said a woman who answered the telephone at Dole’s office. “Everybody here has a phone to their ear.”

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Dole led the Washington, D.C., memorial’s $174 million fund-raising effort.

KU officials also announced Friday that Dole would introduce Clinton at Allen Fieldhouse. It had been uncertain that Dole would attend because of activities leading up to the World War II dedication, which is scheduled for May 29.

Security still an issue

Earlier this week, Dole Institute associate director Richard Konzem said the decision not to use Allen Fieldhouse was driven by security concerns and poor acoustics.

Earle said security remained a concern.

“It’s not going to be open admission,” he said, referring to Clinton’s Allen Fieldhouse appearance. “You’re going to have to have a ticket to get in. Clinton’s staff and the Secret Service insist on that. It’s not negotiable. We can’t just open the doors and let anybody in.”

Stephen McAllister, acting director at the Dole Institute, said KU conferred with both Dole and Clinton about the change.

“We consulted with all those involved,” McAllister said. “I know everybody thinks this should have been an obvious choice, but there were lots of pros and cons to be considered.”

Getting tickets

Plans call for giving away as many as 5,000 tickets to current KU students, faculty and staff, starting at noon Monday at the Allen Fieldhouse ticket office. There will be a limit of two tickets per person.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, another 5,000 tickets will be given to the general public. Again, the limit is two tickets per person.

Tickets that had been distributed for the Lied Center appearance will be honored.

“We’ll be setting up a special section for those folks,” Earle said.

Telephone orders will not be taken.

“That’s one of the logistical issues,” McAllister said. “There won’t be enough time to mail people their tickets, and we’re not set up to deal with a will-call situation of that magnitude.”

The initial demand for tickets caught Dole Institute officials off guard.

“We knew there would be a lot (of demand),” Earle said. “But it turned out to be huge and overwhelming, which was great, but it also raised some internal concerns over how to balance putting on a quality event with accommodating huge numbers of people.

“I guess this is the price you pay for bringing someone this fascinating and this interesting to campus,” he said. “But you know what? It’s worth it.”

See it elsewhere

Clinton’s lecture still will be simulcast at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The auditorium seats 500. No tickets are required for admission to Woodruff, but seating will be first-come, first-served.

Clinton is scheduled to begin speaking at 2:15 p.m.

Both Kansas Public Radio (91.5-FM) and Sunflower Broadband’s Channel 6 will broadcast the speech live.

“We’ll go on at 2 p.m.,” said Channel 6 production manager Ann Niccum. “We’ll rebroadcast it that night at 6:30 and then Monday at 10:30 p.m. and Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.”

How to get tickets

Noon Monday: 5,000 tickets will be distributed to KU students, faculty and staff, Allen Fieldhouse ticket office.

9 a.m. Tuesday: 5,000 tickets will be distributed to the general public, Allen Fieldhouse ticket office.

Ticket limit is two per person.