Topeka ? Kansas University and Kansas State University face off as rivals in many areas. But in the federal government’s announcement to build a state-of-the-art research facility in Manhattan, officials from both schools say K-State’s win is the entire state’s gain.

“The National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility will be a major economic asset to our state and will boost bioscience research throughout the region, including at KU,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway.

“When coupled with the cancer, pharmaceutical and other research taking place here, this lab will make Kansas an international center for bioscience research,” Hemenway said.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security selected the Kansas State campus as the future site of the $450 million NBAF. The decision followed years of intense competition between Kansas and several other states to become home for what is being touted as the nation’s top facility for research and development of countermeasures for diseases that threaten livestock and humans.

The project is expected to produce 1,500 construction jobs and employ hundreds of scientists once finished in 2015. But more importantly, officials said, the concentration of research will spin off more development of what is called the animal health corridor.

“For the region and for the industry, it represents a tremendous boost,” said Bob Walker, a spokesman for Bayer Animal Health in De Soto. “This further supports the notion that this region is the global hub for animal health.”

The animal health corridor stretches from Manhattan to Kansas City, Mo., and then to Columbia, Mo. It’s an area where livestock producers, university faculty scientists, top-tier veterinary programs, and animal health companies are often working side by side.

Kansas City regional companies account for approximately one-third of total sales in the $16.8 billion global animal health market, according to the Kansas City Area Development Council.

Steve Warren, vice provost for research and graduate studies at KU, said winning NBAF will bolster research in the area.

“This will bring a higher concentration of researchers and companies that are very interested in vaccines and drug development,” he said.

Although most of KU’s drug development focuses on humans rather than livestock, Warren said the entire region will benefit.

“You want to be in an area that has a lot of active research and investment going on. It’s a bigger win than it looks like in some ways,” he said.

And, he said, the victory also will also have a psychological effect, proving that Kansas can compete with bigger states. It will help in KU’s push for a national cancer center designation, he said.

“It’s priceless,” Warren said of the NBAF site selection. “We are just delighted that this happened.”