President Obama to speak Thursday morning at KU; tickets available Tuesday

This 2012 file photo from football practice inside Anschutz Sports Pavilion shows the building on Kansas University's campus where President Barack Obama will give a speech, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015.

President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Kansas University this week will be highlighted by public remarks Thursday morning at Anschutz Sports Pavilion, the White House announced Monday.

Event information

President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at approximately 11:20 a.m. Thursday at Anschutz Sports Pavilion, 1575 Irving Hill Road, next to Allen Fieldhouse on the Kansas University campus. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.


Tickets

The event is free but a limited number of tickets are available. Each person may get only one ticket.

KU students, faculty and staff — with valid KU IDs — may get tickets beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the SUA Box Office, located on Level 4 of the Kansas Union, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd.

Members of the public may get tickets beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the Douglas County Fairgrounds Dreher 4-H Building, 2110 Harper St.

Parking

A free shuttle bus will be provided from West Campus to Anschutz. Attendees should park in lots 301 and 302 next to Shenk Recreational Sports Complex, accessible via 23rd Street and Crestline Drive. Parking will not be available at Anschutz, except a limited number of handicapped spots.

KU students, faculty and staff must move cars from the lots around Anschutz by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday afternoon. For parking alternatives, go online to president.ku.edu.

Online

Obama’s remarks will be streamed live online at whitehouse.gov/live. KU is posting detailed event information online at president.ku.edu. For updates leading up to and during the event, follow the Journal-World online at ljworld.com, on Twitter @ljworld, on Vine at https://vine.co/ljworld and on Facebook at Facebook.com/ljworld.

On the radio

KU-based Kansas Public Radio, 91.5 FM, will broadcast the President’s remarks live from Anschutz, with coverage beginning shortly after 11 a.m. KPR also can be heard online at kpr.ku.edu.

Obama would be the first sitting president to visit KU in more than a century. He was scheduled to visit KU in April 2013, but that trip was canceled in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

While on campus Obama is expected to discuss themes from his State of the Union address, which he will deliver Tuesday night.

Obama’s remarks are scheduled to begin around 11:20 a.m. Thursday at Anschutz, with doors opening at 8:30 a.m.

Tickets are free, but limited. They will be available Tuesday on a first-come, first-served basis, with only one ticket allowed per person.

The White House said there would be “several thousand” tickets available but did not say exactly how many. A portion will be set aside for KU students, faculty and staff and another portion for the public, so both groups will be represented, according to the White House.

The number does not depend on seats, though: At Anschutz there will be no chairs, KU announced. Attendees should be prepared to stand for the duration of the event.

While KU has a number of large venues on campus, the White House determined that Anschutz would work best for Thursday’s event, said Jack Martin, director of strategic communications for KU.

Anschutz, the indoor practice facility for many KU sports teams, is located at 1575 Irving Hill Road, next to Allen Fieldhouse. The 40,000-square-foot sports pavilion has an 80-yard turf football field surrounded by a track, according to KU Athletics.

Martin said the university was working closely with the White House and the Secret Service on logistics and security for Obama’s visit.

“The White House and Secret Service do quite a few of these sorts of events all around the country, and we are happy to be able to work with them to host the president here,” Martin said.

Security for Thursday’s event will be tight.

Attendees will go through airport-like security when entering the event, according to the White House. No signs or banners will be permitted. Attendees should not bring bags and are asked to limit personal items.

Overnight camping will not be allowed on the premises at any time leading up to the event, the White House said.

Meanwhile, KU classes will go on, though parking around Anschutz will be restricted from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon.

The White House announced Friday night that Obama would visit Lawrence this week. His KU visit will follow a Wednesday appearance at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Lawrence Wednesday night and depart Thursday afternoon, according to the White House. Obama will fly in and out of Topeka, although Air Force One’s arrival and departure are not open to the public.

Gov. Sam Brownback’s press secretary Eileen Hawley confirmed that the governor will greet the president when he arrives in Topeka on Wednesday night. But Brownback will not attend Obama’s speech at KU on Thursday, Hawley said, because he has a previous commitment to attend the annual Kansans for Life rally marking the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion.

Obama would be the fourth sitting president ever to visit KU.

The last was William H. Taft in 1911. The other two presidents who visited campus while in office were Ulysses S. Grant in 1873 and Rutherford B. Hayes in 1879.

Five additional presidents — Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton — visited KU after leaving office.