KU to honor Anderson, Kivisto gifts

Two families were instrumental in the collection of $31 million for a new football facility. So, Kansas University chose to honor both.

The Kansas Board of Regents on Thursday approved KU’s naming the new facility the Anderson Family Football Complex, after longtime KU benefactor Dana Anderson and his family pledged $12 million toward the project.

In addition, the field at Memorial Stadium will be named Kivisto Field after former KU basketball player Tom Kivisto and his family pledged an additional $12 million toward the football program.

“It’s obvious that those two families are the primary donors for this project,” associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said of the naming. “It just ended up that that was what the families agreed to.”

The Anderson Family Football Complex will be built adjacent to Memorial Stadium and feature offices, locker rooms, a weight room, meeting rooms and other amenities. Construction is expected to start in January of 2007 and take about 18 months to complete.

Currently, HNTB Architecture in Kansas City, Mo., is finishing programming stages, before outlining space needs and estimated costs. Soon after, blueprints and renderings will be drawn.

Dana and Sue Anderson, who live in Los Angeles, also donated $8 million toward a new weight room on behalf of their family. That facility, completed in 2003, was named the Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center.