photo by: Journal-World photo

Fans file through the doors past the statue of Phog Allen for the 60th Anniversary celebration of Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Oct. 27, 2014.

Visitors of Allen Fieldhouse already know one thing they are supposed to be on the lookout for: The Phog. (Technically, “beware” is the proper terminology.) Soon, keep your eyes open for something else.

Happy hour drink specials.

By the end of this summer, the venerable Allen Fieldhouse will be the site of a new upscale bar and restaurant that will be open pretty much every day of the week, and available to anyone who wants to buy a membership to the “social club.”

The Naismith Club at Allen Fieldhouse is slated to go into the space currently known as the Naismith Room, which is the large open space that overlooks the main entrance to Allen Fieldhouse and the Booth Family Hall of Athletics.

The Oak View Group — the large national operator of convention centers and stadiums — expects to open The Naismith Club by the end of August. While the Oak View Group is the operator of concession stands at KU football, basketball and other athletic contests, The Naismith Club will have a much different feel.

“We want it to be like an elevated sports club,” Melisa Steward, regional membership sales director for OVG, told me. “We definitely lean in heavily to the sports side of things because we are right there in the venue. But we also will have events like wine tasting nights, family nights, Easter brunch, Mother’s Day brunch and a lot of curated member events.”

photo by: Journal-World photo

A steady stream of fans file into Allen Fieldhouse for the 60th Anniversary celebration of Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Oct. 27, 2014.

The idea of elevated food and drink locations inside Allen Fieldhouse is no longer a new one. After the most recent round of renovations, Allen Fieldhouse has several areas where select season ticket holders can go to have a beer, cocktails and food offerings. But those areas only are open on game days, and you generally have to be a donor to Kansas Athletics to get access to the areas.

The Naismith Club aims to be the place to go when games aren’t in session. The club won’t be open on KU men’s basketball game days, but will otherwise be open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch, happy hours, dinner and select late nights, Steward said.

Plus, there is a twist (beyond the one in your gin and tonic): You don’t have to be a KU donor to get access to the club.

Instead, you’ll need to either buy a membership through OVG or be the guest of a member. Memberships work in similar ways to country club memberships, if you are familiar with those systems. That means you pay a one-time initiation fee, pay monthly dues, and agree to spend at least a certain amount of money on food and drink each quarter.

“But it is more like affordable country club living,” Steward said.

Instead of initiation fees running in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, the typical membership will have a $650, one-time initiation fee and monthly dues of $110. Quarterly food and drink minimums will be $300.

The club will have various membership levels, though, including a special one for faculty and staff members of KU. The club’s new website advertises that membership as $50 a month with a $150 initiation fee and quarterly food and drink minimums of $150.

“We are intentionally pricing it in a way to make it easy for people to enjoy it and be connected to your alma mater or your community,” Steward said.

OVG has been in the business of operating social clubs that are connected to universities for about two years. Its other clubs include facilities at the University of Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Arizona and Utah.

Most are located in either football stadiums or historic buildings on campus. The Naismith Club will the first in a basketball arena, and Steward said Allen Fieldhouse made great sense as the setting.

“What better first to have than Allen Fieldhouse, the home of college basketball,” Steward said.

OVG plans to begin selling “founding” memberships at the end of this month, using a list compiled by the chancellor’s office and the athletic department. In June, the club plans to begin selling memberships to the general public. Steward said the club will cap total membership, although that cap amount hasn’t yet been announced.

photo by: University of Kansas

The entrance to the current version of the Naismith Room in Allen Fieldhouse is pictured.

Renovations are underway to convert the Naismith Room into The Naismith Club. Those include new furnishings, upgraded seating, a bar revamp and several other amenities. The club, however, won’t need to do the expensive and difficult work of building a new kitchen. Allen Fieldhouse has kitchens to serve its concession stand food program. Those kitchens will be used for The Naismith Club, but Steward said that doesn’t mean the club’s menu will look anything like concession stand offerings.

Steward said the menu is still under development, but will be “upscale, curated, multi-option for lunch and dinner,” with menus likely changing with the seasons.

Some other details of the club experience also are being worked out. Parking is one of those details. A public parking garage that charges a fee is connected to Allen Fieldhouse and is generally always available when KU doesn’t have a game at the fieldhouse. The fieldhouse also has several parking lots nearby. They generally require university-issued parking permits for daytime use, but are generally available for public parking in the evening hours, unless they are reserved for an event.

Steward said OVG is still working on the final details of a parking plan with KU officials. She said club memberships may end up including a small fee for parking, for those in need of the option.

But Steward said OVG officials are confident that The Naismith Club will be a popular offering among KU fans. She said the company is finding the social club concept is popular in the other university communities OVG serves.

“People nowadays are really hungry for community,” Steward said. “They want to belong to something that is really bigger than themselves.”

photo by: University of Kansas

The current Naismith Room, pictured here, is used as a gathering space before KU basketball games.