photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is photographed from the northeast as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

When the University of Kansas’ football season kicks off against Long Island at 7 p.m. Friday, fans might have to find new places to park or new ways to get to and from the stadium.

That’s because KU has changed its game-day parking arrangements to accommodate the ongoing construction at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, and because Lawrence Transit is no longer offering a dedicated shuttle between the stadium and downtown Lawrence.

The construction on the east bowl of the stadium has taken over two lots that were available for parking last year. KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said these lots previously had around 300 spots, most of them reserved for donors to KU athletic programs; a couple dozen of the spots were for ADA accessible parking.

The university still has parking available on the south side of its campus, and it will offer a shuttle service to and from those lots.

But people looking to park in downtown Lawrence and ride the bus might have a more difficult time than last year. They will have to use regular city bus routes to get to the stadium, and they’ll have to find a different way back, because those routes stop running at night.

Lawrence Transit, on its website, characterized this as “a slightly different format than previous years” and said the changes were due to “efforts to reduce costs and focus on core services.” As the Journal-World has reported, Lawrence Transit has said its operations have become unsustainable due to rising costs of operating the system, and it’s seeking voters’ approval for a sales tax increase to keep the service running at its current level.

Here’s more information about where to park, the bus situation and other things to know before the game.

If you have a donor permit:

Most of the spots close to the stadium are reserved for donors to KU’s Williams Education Fund with a special permit. Permits are required for lots 1, 36, 39, 50, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 91 and 96, and for the non-ADA spaces in Lot 59 and the Mississippi Street garage.

If you don’t have a permit:

There are options farther away for those parking without a permit.

For $35, you can park in Lot 11, on the corner of 11th Street and West Campus Road; lot 72, off of Irving Hill Road next to the Burge Union; or the Allen Fieldhouse parking garage. Or, for $10 per stall, you can park in lot 90, at the corner of Naismith Drive and Schwegler Drive.

All of these spaces are first-come, first-served, and payment is by credit card only. There are two game-day shuttles that start three hours before kickoff and end one hour after the game; they will stop outside the Allen Fieldhouse garage and at the northwest corner of Lot 90.

Versions of KU’s game day parking instructions from past years show that Lot 90 was previously a free parking and RV lot on game days. It has about 1,440 spaces, but Barcomb-Peterson said “it is unlikely all of those stalls will be sold for football parking on any given game day.” That’s because for the first two home games of the season, any KU student, faculty member or employee who has a parking permit can also park in that lot.

If you’re parking an RV, note that lot 90 is still the only place on campus where RVs will be allowed.

LEFT-ALIGNED BOX

Accessible parking

There are some spots closer to the stadium for people who need ADA accommodations. Fourteen ADA spots are available in Lot 59, east of the football team’s practice facility, which can be accessed from 11th Street, and 17 are available in the Mississippi Street parking garage. Unlike the other spaces in Lot 59 and the garage, these ones don’t require a donor permit, Barcomb-Peterson said. They are sold on a first-come, first-served basis for $35 by credit card only.

If those spaces are full, there are also ADA-accessible spaces near the shuttle in lots 54 and 72. These are also available on a first-come, first-served basis for $35 by credit card.

Downtown parking and the bus

If you don’t want to pay for parking, you can park in downtown Lawrence and ride the city bus to the stadium instead — but you won’t be able to ride the bus back.

Free parking is available on the top levels of the Vermont Street and New Hampshire Street parking garages. If the free parking is full, both garages also allow parking on other levels for $2 a day.

Unlike last year, there are no dedicated shuttle routes that run between downtown and the stadium before and after games. There are, however, two city bus routes that start in downtown and stop at or near the stadium. Route 4 stops at 11th and Maine, on the northwest corner of the stadium, and Route 3 stops at Ninth and Maine, two blocks away. Bus schedules can be found at Lawrence Transit’s website, lawrencetransit.org/routes.

However, these routes do not run after 8 p.m., so you’ll have to find another way to get back, or walk back to downtown, which is a little less than a mile away. Lawrence Transit does offer an after-hours on-demand service, but it costs $3 per trip; find more details at lawrencetransit.org/on-demand.

Neighborhood traffic impacts

KU is also asking drivers to use caution around the construction zones, specifically on Mississippi Street. Lanes have been intermittently closed over the past month for the installation of a water line, and during weekend and overnight hours, street plates have been used to cover the excavated area. Barcomb-Peterson said the traffic impacts here are expected to end after the second home game of the season.

The Journal-World asked if there was anything else the university was doing to reduce the impact of game-day parking and traffic on neighborhood residents, and Barcomb-Peterson did not provide any further information beyond the update on this construction zone.