When the University of Kansas (KU) unveiled the first phase of its $750 million Gateway District in Fall 2025, it stepped into a new era of collegiate design.

The development’s catalyst — the modernized David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium — now anchors a multiuse ecosystem that fuses athletics, hospitality and community life.

Located at the northern edge of KU’s Lawrence, Kansas, campus and designed by HNTB and Multistudio, the Gateway District is the product of a phased master plan that redefines traditional boundaries in collegiate sports architecture.

The first phase included the renovated stadium, expansion of, and upgrades to, the Anderson Family Football Complex — the football team’s training facility — and a new conference center.

“This new campus doorway animates a vision beyond the football stadium,” said Ryan Gedney, HNTB chief design officer. “Often, stadiums are castle-like fortresses built next to mixed-use developments but not integrated into them. The Gateway District situates the stadium as a welcoming pavilion in a park, weaving it into the development and creating a place that can thrive every day of the year.”

A stadium that works harder

That ethos of integration permeates the project, which blends three building types that would typically be kept separate in one connected structure.

“Combining the buildings created shared-use value that allows the stadium to work harder,” Gedney said. “Consistent with the university’s vision, every square foot has a purpose and delivers efficiency, in addition to providing a dynamic patron experience.”

By strategically combining these spaces, environments gain new layers of functionality. A high-end lobby serves as both the entry for players and a hospitality experience for guests. A premium club doubles as a dining space for athletes. The conference center not only supports game day operations but extends its programming by utilizing the stadium’s premium spaces on non-game days.

"The Gateway District and new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium will deliver a profound experience and provide an impact that our student-athletes, fans and broader community richly deserve,” said Travis Goff, director of athletics at the University of Kansas, in a statement.

This interconnected design is further optimized through shared infrastructure, like a single loading dock serving all three facilities, chiller plants, staircases, storage spaces and kitchens that provide food for both stadium concessions and the football team’s dining hall.

On the north end of the district, the new conference center further broadens the stadium’s footprint into civic and academic use. The university and other organizations can use the stadium suites and clubs as an extension to events hosted at the conference center. Or, a VIP lobby, through which both student athletes and premium seat holders enter the stadium on game day, could be the lunch setting for conference attendees during the week.

Data-informed design

HNTB’s design team leveraged benchmarking data from more than 45 collegiate and professional sports institutions and applied best practices to address KU’s space, staffing and future growth needs. This benchmarking informed the design of the Anderson Family Football Complex. The refreshed design responds to changes in collegiate football programs’ scale and specialization since the original training facility opened in 2008.

The facility’s subterranean level houses the locker, training and weight rooms, a lounge and equipment space. Players and staff enter the field directly from the locker room through a new tunnel that has become an integral part of the pregame hype experience for the team and fans alike. The ground level includes coaches’ and staff offices, meeting rooms and a team meeting room that offers sweeping views of the stadium from its perch above the corner of the south end zone.

“There’s nothing else like the Anderson Family Football Complex’s new team meeting room in college football. Typically, the training facility team meeting rooms are large volume with no access to natural light or connection beyond its four walls,” said Vito Privitera, HNTB design principal. “Upon entering this space, you’re immediately immersed inside the stadium, sitting just above the back corner of the southwest end zone. The space predominantly serves as the main team meeting room, but also provides the opportunity for the university to utilize the space for additional non-football events.”

The position meeting rooms, where coaches meet with specific player groups, can expand or divide. Even the walk-through room off the lobby is multipurpose, capable of hosting recruiting functions, strategy sessions or game day hospitality events in conjunction with the VIP lobby premium experience.

Uniquely Kansas

As the centerpiece of the Gateway District, the renovated stadium invites fans into an immersive game day experience.

From the moment they enter the stadium, KU fans encounter a space deeply rooted in Kansas’ landscape and traditions. Lighting, rather than being solely utilitarian, mimics stalks of the wheat grown widely in the state. The locally sourced limestone used throughout the venue echoes the stone’s prevalence in campus architecture.

Rich wood tones and grain patterns were inspired by the various tree species planted in Marvin Grove, a 10-acre setting on KU’s campus that students use as a study and picnic spot. Every detail, from carpet patterns to doorknobs to lighting temperature, was chosen to feel purposeful and connected to place.

The upper and lower concourses were designed with distinct identities. On the lower concourse, heavier textures, including limestone, evoke permanence and tradition. On the upper concourse, the design team took inspiration from Kansas’ state motto, ad astra per aspera, meaning “to the stars through difficulty.” Lighter finishes capture a sense of expanse and aspiration.

Premium clubs, lounges and suites offer views to both the bowl and the surrounding plaza, creating a sense of continuity between interior and exterior spaces. The stadium design intends for fans, no matter where they are within the stadium, to always feel the energy of the game.

“Collegiate venues are increasingly aligning with the expectations long set by professional sports, and KU is helping to define what that evolution can look like,” said Emily Louchart, HNTB director of design, interiors. “The Gateway District shows that premium doesn’t have to mean exclusive — it can be diverse, intentional and deeply connected to team identity. KU is illustrating how every fan experience can be elevated in a way that feels authentic to place and purpose.”

The redesigned seating bowl, with seats moved 60 feet closer to the field, improves sight lines and creates an electrified fan experience that escalates KU’s home-field advantage.

“With fans now closer to the action, the stadium delivers a home‑field advantage KU has never had before,” said Jeff Goode, HNTB design principal. “You feel the intensity the moment you step into the bowl. The crowd is louder, the energy is tighter and the connection between players and fans is unmistakable.”

The stadium also features locations where fans can congregate informally.

“During design, we envisioned people hanging out during games on a standing platform area on the stadium’s north end, with the sun washing over them,” Louchart said. “On opening day, people gravitated there to socialize while still being connected to the game. Creating those intentional moments in casual, accessible areas is as important to the fan experience as the premium spaces are.”

Honoring the past, building the future

The stadium’s original 1921 structure was built as a memorial to the 129 students and alumni who died in World War I and to the community members who played key roles in supporting the American war effort. That legacy influenced the redesign, which includes a new memorial plaza and curated art installations.

“The Gateway District provided the extremely rare opportunity to rebuild and modernize a World War I memorial stadium while retaining its meaning,” Gedney said. “The design thoughtfully merges history and future, not only for athletics and football, but also for the broader community narrative, which celebrates Lawrence, Kansas, and the people who shaped it.”

A catalyst for the region

Designed for year-round activation, the Gateway District demonstrates how architectural design in collegiate sports can expand universities’ revenue, heighten value through shared use facilities, elevate the patron experience and serve an entire community.

"We are thrilled with the new west and north sides of The Booth and, in earnest, have begun the transformation of the east and south sides in advance of the construction of the mixed-use development that will create the Gateway District for the University of Kansas,” Goff said in a statement.

Future phases will extend the district’s reach through new hospitality, retail, entertainment and academic components, while focusing on the south and east portions of the stadium. This vision will realize the Gateway District as a vibrant and civic gateway, boosting student life, event hosting, local business and economic development in the region.

“The Gateway District will operate at a high level every day,” Gedney said. “It is tailored to KU’s past, present and future as a network of multiple venues where people gather, learn, celebrate and remember.”