photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The north end of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which includes a new conference center, is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

There’s been no shortage of questions during the nearly two years of construction at KU’s football stadium.

What’s that crane moving? When’s the turf going to be installed? Can you see the video board from space?

But one question has been asked more than any other: Where’s everybody going to park?

KU officials are providing more details, and now have confirmed that at least one new parking lot will be built north of 11th Street, putting it across the street from the stadium and closer to the abutting neighborhood.

Jeff Dewitt, the chief financial officer for KU, confirmed current plans are to tear down the Sunflower Apartments at the northwest corner of 11th and Missouri streets to make room for an approximately 300-space parking lot that will serve both the revamped football stadium and the new conference center that is attached to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The lot’s proposed location is significant because it is the first time that any portion of the Gateway Project — KU’s name for the stadium renovation, the connected conference center and the auxiliary development of a hotel, student housing and other amenities — has been contemplated for north of 11th Street.

One lingering fear of some neighbors is that KU’s $800 million project will creep into the neighborhood of single family homes that exist between 11th and Ninth streets north of the stadium.

photo by: Douglas County GIS/Journal-World

The blue star marks the site of a proposed 300-space parking lot to serve KU’s football stadium and conference center, shown to the right.

While the proposed parking lot is north of 11th Street, it is not exactly in the single family portion of the neighborhood. The site itself is home to about a dozen post-World War II era garden-style apartment buildings. The KU Endowment Association already owns the property, and its closest neighbors — the Kansas Public Radio complex and the Hawker Apartments — are both owned either by KU or a KU Endowment entity.

But, it is crossing a physical boundary, nonetheless. KU hasn’t announced any other plans for Gateway-related development north of 11th Street, but the parking lot will cause neighbors to wonder if more is to come.

The announcement also is important because it helps fill in some of the parking math of the Gateway project. KU leaders have long said they expect to provide about 1,000 parking spaces for the stadium and the conference center. But it hasn’t been clear where. Plans for a hotel and student housing will occupy most of the surface parking lots that currently exist on the east side of the stadium.

KU officials have long said they expect a large amount of underground parking to be built on the east side of the stadium, beneath the new development. Those plans have now shifted. KU officials during a recent tour given to the Kansas Board of Regents said the parking now will be above ground. A pair of apartments will be built on the site, and the first two floors of those apartment buildings will house covered parking. In total, the two buildings will have about 440 beds for student housing, and will include 665 covered parking spaces.

Add that to the approximately 300-space parking lot at the Sunflower Apartment site, and KU basically hits its 1,000-space goal. KU is estimating that the development on the east side of the stadium will cover up about 360 spaces that exist today. Thus, KU is anticipating the area will have a net increase of about 640 parking space. Of course, the new development — everything from the conference center to the apartments — is expected to increase the demand for parking.

So, it may not be safe to assume that finding a parking space will be easier, even with the additional parking. But it is becoming clearer how KU is working to make the parking situation feasible.

photo by: University of Kansas

A concept of KU’s Gateway District, as provided to the Lawrence City Commission for review.

As part of the tour that KU gave to members of the Board of Regents, several other updates on the project were given. Here’s a look at a few.

• KU has set Dec. 15 as the tentative date to begin demolishing the east side of the stadium. That will mark the beginning of what could be up to three additional years of construction at the stadium site. In a development agreement with the City of Lawrence, KU has committed to have all the development — the stadium and the auxiliary components — completed by December 2028. KU Chancellor Douglas Girod has said KU will play in the stadium while it is under construction. During the first phase, KU moved games to the Kansas City area, but Girod has previously said that won’t be the case during the second phase of construction.

• DeWitt confirmed the new east side of the stadium will have many of the same amenities as the recently completed west side. DeWitt said KU plans to install an additional batch of luxury suites on the east side. He said the west side project proved that there was high demand from big donors for the suites.

How much demand? Athletic Director Travis Goff shared with the regents that all 3,000 premium seating options available in the revamped stadium were purchased. A total of 585 different buyers purchased the 3,000 seats. But here’s the really big number: Those premium seating options generated $187 million in donations from the ticket buyers.

In other words, donors were willing to give donations well into the six figures in order to have the opportunity to buy seats in the premium seating areas, which include the luxury suites.

With numbers like that, DeWitt said it became clear KU should include suites and luxury seating options on the east side.

“As we got further we along, we realized we’ve got demand for suites,” DeWitt said. “We’re going to put suites on the east side too.”

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents were given a peak inside the stadium suite of KU mega donor David Booth on Oct. 16, 2025.

• Goff also shared another big number with regents. He said KU has sold 16,500 season tickets for this season, which is up from 7,100 season tickets in 2021. Goff didn’t say how this year’s season ticket numbers compared to last season’s totals, but he said the increased success of the football team since 2021, in addition to the stadium plans, have driven a large increase in sales.

• An upscale Marriott hotel is still the preferred option for the hotel that will connect to the conference center that is built into the north end of the football stadium. However, DeWitt said a final agreement for the Marriott hotel hasn’t yet been reached. The size of the hotel is still expected to be 150 hotel rooms, with 16 condominiums for donors also located in the building.

• The conference center is now open for business. A representative with the third-party operator of the facility — Oak View Group — told regents that 65 events have been booked or are pending between now and 2028. Those events are estimated to generate about $650,000 for the conference center. KU officials are betting that demand is the tip of the iceberg. KU has planned for the conference center and the stadium to host 200 events per year.

Regents were told the facility will be able to host multiple events at the same time. For one thing, the large banquet room can be divided into eight separate space. Additionally, on non-game days, KU is making parts of the stadium itself available for rentals. For example, the covered bar and gathering areas in the stadium can be rented separately for events. The OVG representative noted the facility already has booked its first wedding.

Very large events, though, also are expected. The main banquet room is the largest in the city. It can seat 1,000 people for a dinner or about 2,200 for theater-style seating.

• The entire Gateway Project — the already completed westside improvements and the pending eastside improvements — is now expected to cost slightly more than $800 million. That’s up from earlier estimates of about $750 million, but is not changed from when KU officials presented the project to the Lawrence City Commission in August for approval of multiple tax incentives. KU is now estimating the project will cost $808 million to build. Of that total, $448 millio was spent on the west side and the conference center, and $360 million is projected to be spent on the east side. The conference center by itself had an $85 million price tag, according to information shared with the regents.

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents, which oversees all public higher education in the state, were on the KU campus on Thursday for various tours and events. They spent a couple of hours at the stadium and convention center. Here’s a look at some of what they saw.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The tunnel leading to the field of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents walk the field at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A hanging piece of art at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

Regent Chair Blake Benson examines one of the luxury seats at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025.

Johnny’s Patio, one of several speciality food and bar areas in David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Student-athletes dine inside the Jayhawk Club at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A piece of art hangs in David Booth’s suite in KU’s football stadium, pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

The film room for the Kansas football team is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Theater-style seating in the film room of the Kansas football team is pictured on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents participate in a tour of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, 2025.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents take in a view of Mt. Oread from the concourse of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.