photo by: Kansas Athletics

This rendering released on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, shows David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium at night, viewed from the northeast, once the second phase of the Gateway project has been completed.

To keep its Gateway project on schedule, the University of Kansas wants Lawrence to issue STAR bonds and other incentives for the project now, and city leaders on Tuesday will vote on whether to do that.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will be asked to consider authorizing two bond issuances for the project: up to $75 million in STAR bonds, and up to $25 million in Community Improvement District bonds. Their repayment would come from tax revenue generated by the Gateway district, a development associated with KU’s new football stadium, which will include a hotel, student housing, retail space and an outdoor plaza, among other things.

In 2025, the city entered into an agreement with KU for a package of financial incentives for the project. However, the agreement had conditions that would need to be met before the bonds could be issued, including locking in a guaranteed maximum price for the hotel. According to a memo from the city’s economic development staff, KU had originally told the city it would have that price by October 2026, but it has since pushed that estimate back to June 2027. In order to maintain the project’s financing and schedule, KU has asked the city to go ahead and issue the bonds before the guaranteed maximum price has been set.

Last month, city commissioners amended the agreement so that they could consider the bond issuance at a future meeting. Tuesday night is when they will decide whether to take the step of actually issuing the bonds.

The resolution approved last month included a mechanism that would let the city hold proceeds associated with the hotel in escrow “until certain conditions relating to the Hotel’s construction and/or opening are provided to the City Manager’s satisfaction.”

“This requirement provides an additional protection while allowing the financing to proceed before the hotel [guaranteed maximum price] is available,” the economic development staff’s memo reads.

Before the vote last month, the Lawrence Chamber sent a letter to commissioners urging them to proceed with the financing before the maximum price was received. “Allowing the City to proceed with the STAR and CID financing before receipt of the hotel [guaranteed maximum price], while preserving the conditions and protections associated with the financing, will help keep the Gateway Project on schedule,” Chamber President and CEO Bonnie Lowe wrote in the letter.

The Lawrence City Commission meets at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.