photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The exterior of the concrete bowl of what is left of Lawrence's Municipal Stadium seen in March 2025.

A group looking to get historical preservation status for the Municipal Stadium in East Lawrence’s Hobbs Park will host a community listening session as it approaches the next steps for the project.

The group, called The Municipal Stadium in Hobbs Park Legacy Project, has been aiming since last year to get the status in order to unlock funds to improve the stadium and the park.

Andrew Stockmann, the curator of exhibitions at the Watkins Museum and head of the Legacy Project group, told the Journal-World the group will host a community listening session in East Lawrence on June 7, as well as provide an update to the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board this coming Monday night.

Stockmann said the group has drafted the national historic register nomination for the stadium, describing its importance to the Lawrence community and its historical legacy of hosting the legendary Kansas City Monarchs in August 1949.

Stockmann said the register nomination has been “pretty slow going,” but the group wanted to make sure its “ducks are in a row” to ensure it achieves historic preservation. In the meantime, the group wants to also look to the future by getting public input on the direction any future renovations would take.

One key element is completing a historic structure report that not only would analyze the architectural integrity of the stadium bowl but also take a look at its possible future uses. Stockmann said getting feedback from the public about what it wants out of the stadium would inform what would be in the report and provide ideas about how to work with community groups on next steps.

Along with getting the additional feedback, Stockmann said having these listening sessions and presentations helps get the word out on the project. In his experience, he said there are people who have heard about the project and are very invested and people who know nothing about the project or stadium. He hopes these listening sessions can help inspire more people to get involved.

“We want people to know the stadium is there to preserve in the first place and (explain) why it’s important,” Stockmann said.