To the editor:

Lew Perkins has done a masterful job of building the Kansas University athletic program, tapping big donors to do so. We’ve seen a huge improvement in facilities, operating budget and success, both on the field and on the court. Well over $25 million has been spent renovating Allen Fieldhouse. Jayhawker Towers have been renovated. Perkins is successfully selling courtside season tickets at $15,000 a pop. Now he’s announced a tower of suites at Memorial Stadium.

It’s time Perkins does something for the average fan. And it’s time we create a quality football facility.

Tear out the track and lower the field! Put the fans close to the action, where they belong! Create a real home-field advantage. Answer coach Mark Mangino’s request to create a “hostile” environment.

Engineering studies show that seven rows can be added totaling approximately 7,000 seats. That’s the perfect next addition to the stadium.

None of the great college venues have a track to separate the fans from the action: the Big House, the Horseshoe, the Swamp, FSU, ‘Bama, LSU, Notre Dame, etc. KU is on a very short list of just two BCS schools that seat their fans eight lanes away from the action: Washington and Duke. (Duke football is not something to which KU should aspire!)

Shouldn’t the next capital improvement be to increase seating (good seating, by the way) at Memorial Stadium and put the fans as close to the field as they are at competing venues?