An Aerial view of campanile hill as it is projected to appear after construction of new practice fields and the Anderson Family Football Complex. Construction will begin after the 2006 Kansas University football season, with the practice fields to be completed by fall 2007 and the complex to be finished in summer 2008.

The location and floorplans are all but finalized, and the brainstormers of the Anderson Family Football Complex did keep in mind the one absolute must.

“The hill is wide open,” Kansas University associate athletic director Sean Lester said. “You can’t see it any clearer than that. The facility will have no impact.”

Pressure from the university to keep the view of Campanile Hill unobstructed – for graduation and aesthetic purposes – culminated with a pledge from the athletic department to do just that. And now that updated images of the complex have been released, it appears to be a promise kept.

The Anderson Family Football Complex has a two-story building on the southwest side of the stadium and two side-by-side practice fields on the southeast side. In between is the hill that KU faculty, staff and supporters cherish so much.

Lester said the design aspects of the building were reaching the final stages. Once that’s done, the plans will be given to Turner Construction, which will then come back with an estimate on the price. If all goes well, that estimate will be within the $31 million budget raised by the athletic department.

“In a perfect world, we won’t have to make any changes,” Lester said. “But I’ve never been involved in (an initial plan under budget).”

An artist’s rendering was put in the KU football media guide released this week, but it’s a guess at best, a way of getting a conceptual image released based on the agreed-upon floor plan of the building.

That plan includes two stories – one above ground, one below ground – with all the perks originally desired in the facility. that includes a locker room, sports medicine center, coaches offices, student support, meeting rooms, a weight room and an equipment room.

The weight room projects to be on the lower level and have a two-story high ceiling, while most of the other areas will be stacked one floor on top of the other.

Lester said the timetable for construction and completion of the complex still was intact. Groundbreaking is expected soon after the completion of the 2006 season, with the practice fields scheduled to be done in the fall of 2007 and the building done by the summer of ’08.