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 Kansas fans enter David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Friday night for the Jayhawks’ season opener against Long Island — especially if they are doing so through the eastern part of the venue — it will once again have a new look.

KU will be playing with reduced capacity this season before a maximum of approximately 32,000 fans. That’s because while the school has successfully installed a south-end grandstand for students and the marching band, as well as the lower portion of its east-side seating, the upper deck and the rest of the concourse will have to wait until next season. According to a press release, about 40% of the eventual seating on the southern and eastern ends is available for 2026.

Some aspects of this year’s edition of the stadium will be temporary, like the industrial stairwell at the south end of the eastern stands that allows fans to access concessions and restrooms at ground level.

“West and north patrons should expect to experience what they grew somewhat accustomed to last year,” KU athletic director Travis Goff said during a media tour on Thursday morning. “I think the east, of course, is all brand new. So I think we ask for a little bit of patience for our east patrons, for our students, like this is a whole new ball game with students.

“And so an understanding that yeah, maybe we’ll have a little logjam taking those stairs up to the main concourse of the east, or getting acclimated to that south grandstand. Certainly, concessions, restrooms, we’ve done everything in our power to maximize temporary conditions, but it’s temporary conditions.”

Construction will continue throughout the season when games aren’t taking place, although David Young, project director for the Clark-JE Dunn joint venture, said the stadium will look similar at the end of the year to how it does now because most of the labor is taking place behind the scenes.

However, for those who attend games this season, there will still be some clear indications that work is ongoing. A trailer just beyond the east end of the stadium in the former parking lot indicates the location where an upscale Marriott hotel will be built. A so-called “podium” structure just to its south represents the beginnings of a parking structure on top of which KU will erect two towers of student housing.

There’s also an in-progress area in the northeastern portion of the stadium within which KU is building a lower concourse as well as a new hospitality zone of which Goff said, “We anticipate this club can be one of the more unique speakeasy-type bar vibes, certainly in Lawrence and I think even potentially extending beyond that.” It may well be open beyond game days like the new Naismith Club in Allen Fieldhouse, though it’s not yet clear whether it will have any sort of membership system like that one does.

Construction on this second phase of the project began shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 season: “What we accomplished in eight short months is phenomenal,” Young said. By next fall, the stadium component itself is expected to be complete, with the residence halls and hotel under construction. Goff said the residence halls will be done in 2028, “and then, somewhere probably just behind that, this hotel completion.”

In any case, KU seems to have made significant progress in funding the project, which is expected to have a final price tag of over $800 million.

“I would say it’s somewhere in the $30 million range to complete the overall total fundraising objective for the entirety of the stadium, and then every ounce of this thing will be funded,” Goff said. “And we’re well on our way with conversations that we forecast can get us certainly past that $30 million mark.”

Will LIU sell out?

During head coach Lance Leipold’s tenure, KU has sold out 10 games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, including seven with the old capacity of 47,233 and then most recently three with 41,525 fans during the 2025 season. However, as of Thursday afternoon, KU has not yet sold out for Friday with a significantly lower number of fans required to do so.

“Do I care? Yeah, we care,” Goff said. “Are we going to get caught up in it? I don’t think we’re going to get caught up in it. We want a great crowd, we want a great experience.”

He also spoke more broadly about cultivating the football fan base.

“Listen, we all want and think that it’d just be nice to say every seat’s taken and sold and every student’s going to be there and sit through four quarters,” Goff said. “But we also know the practical side says this is still a progression. And the progression of both this football build and this Gateway build and this stadium build is just going to take some time to get things ingrained.”

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff address reporters in the KU Conference Center as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

An area under the east end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, in which KU is working to build a new concourse area, is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

An area under the east end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, in which KU is working to build a new concourse area and premium hospitality location, is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

The Big 12 Monster Energy logo is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

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

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff looks up from the southeast corner of the field at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff gestures toward temporary bathrooms at the south end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

A temporary stairwell in the southeast corner of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which allows fans to access concessions and restrooms, is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff explains changes to the east end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff explains changes to the east end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

The wall in the northeastern part of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium behind which KU is building a premium club area is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

The “podium” structure on which KU will erect two towers of student housing is pictured as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Dan Moylan, development director for Edgemoor/Sunflower Partners, gestures toward a trailer that indicates the general location of the hotel that will be part of the Gateway project and the “podium” structure on which KU will erect two towers of student housing, as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Dan Moylan, development director for Edgemoor/Sunflower Partners, points out a trailer that indicates the general location of the hotel that will be part of the Gateway project, as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

Dan Moylan, development director for Edgemoor/Sunflower Partners, indicates an area in the northeastern part of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium that will serve as the Gateway project’s titular gateway, as part of a media tour on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.