David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium has been home to the Jayhawks since 1921. $275,000 to build the stadium in the 1920s, $4.7 million in today. ‘The Booth’ as it’s known to students and fans of Kansas, has undergone 4 renovations since opening and is currently undergoing its 5th with completion scheduled in 2026.
Opening on October 29, 1921, Kansas took the first win in Memorial Stadium over state rival, Kansas State with a final score of 21-7. The Booth served as a multipurpose venue for track as well as state championship games, Lawrence vs Lawrence Free State, graduation, Kansas band showcases, and other various events over the years.
A record 52,530 people attended a 49-3 Kansas domination over Northern Colorado on September 5th, 2009. This holds the highest attendance at The Booth ever. For the rest of the 2009 season, Kansas fans showed up in mass, selling out the stadium 5 more times that season, overcapacitating by more than 3,000 each game (capacity: 47,233). Since 2019, Kansas has had eight complete sell-out games, including four in the 2023 season, the last season prior to the big renovation.
Starting in December of 2023, less than a month after a 31-27 loss in the Sunflower Showdown to Kansas State, Turner construction started demolition of the west side of the stadium and north bowl.
More of a new stadium that Kansas is building in collaboration with Turner and Multistudio. Phase one of the stadium will include the west and north bowl renovation and will be completed for the 2025 season. Kansas will play 2 non-conference games at Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting Kansas City, and 4 conference Big12 games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2024 season.
