Saturday, February 10, 2007

Businesses oppose game in writing

Group sends statement to KU that objects to moving MU showdown to Arrowhead

By Chad Lawhorn

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In case there was any doubt, the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce has made it clear that the city's business community is upset about a decision to move this season's Kansas University football game against Missouri to Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

Lavern Squier, president and CEO of the chamber, said Friday that the group's board of directors had approved a statement opposing the move.

"I think there is a resignation that the decision already has been made," Squier said. "But I believe there is some hope that we can minimize the impact or at least not repeat this again."

KU leaders - who met with the chamber board earlier this week - said they appreciated the feedback. But Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director, stopped short of saying that KU wouldn't consider moving games in the future.

"Ninety-eight percent of the time, the university and the city will agree on what the best course of action is on any given subject," Marchiony said. "But there will be times we disagree, and this is one of them. What we'll do now is work together to try to make this the best situation it can be for the city."

Squier said the loss of the game is particularly damaging to the Lawrence economy because the contest is scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, when many game day fans would stay in the city longer to do holiday shopping. Now, they'll be in Kansas City, Mo.

Squier also said it was unfortunate that KU athletic leaders had not begun discussing the issue with the chamber earlier in the process. Squier said the chamber received just a few days notice from KU that the game might be moved. That was despite the fact that community leaders had expressed concern just two years earlier about KU moving its home football game with Oklahoma to Arrowhead.

KU-Mizzou game in Arrowhead

Marchiony confirmed that community leaders were given about three or four days notice before the announcement that a move was being considered.

"I'm sure we'll have the discussion sooner, if there is a next time," Marchiony said. "There is no guarantee that the decision will go one way or the other after that discussion takes place. I don't want to mislead anybody."

Marchiony also said some of the responsibility rests with community leaders to start discussions with KU.

"The phone works both ways, too," Marchiony said. "Somebody very easily could have called us between the Oklahoma game and now and talked to us about how we can prevent this from happening. I don't think it should be incumbent upon us, necessarily, for ensuring the conversation gets started."

KU will receive at least $1 million per year for the next two years as part of the deal to hold the 2007 and 2008 KU/MU games at Arrowhead.

The chamber letter comes after the City Commission in late January agreed to send a letter to the athletic department opposing the move. That letter hasn't been sent. Mayor Mike Amyx said that he plans to have a draft of the letter on the commission's agenda Tuesday night for approval.

Comments

kellermi25 (anonymous) says...

I love KU and its athletics but all they care about is how much money they can make. With this move they get one million. They raise ticket prices for the football games to out ragious prices after we only went 6-6 and didn't make a bowl. I would like to see them think about some one else besides their selves and money for once. This is a stupid move for two reasons. First we can't win away from home and second it will effect Lawrences economy greatly. Stupid move KU.

February 11, 2007 at 1:47 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

Am I the only KU fan that realizes that more money is necessary for us to compete with the other schools in the Big Twelve. The 6-6 record that you're complaining about is a direct result of the athletic department not puting enough effort into making football a successful and profitable sport for the last 40 years. Now we finally have an athletic department that takes football seriously and wants us to compete, and all I hear is whining about every decision they make.

Your two reasons don't make any sense. First if this feels like anything less than a home game it's our own fault, it's being offered in the season ticket package here at KU, yet not at Missou, that gives us a big advantage. When the basketball team moves a game to KC it feels like a game at Allen Fieldhouse East, the same should be true for the football team.

Secondly, the current AD brings in about three more basketball home games per year, bringing in more money to the lawrence economy. Also, we still have 7 football home games this year (the same as last year) you can't lose what you never had and they never had 8 games.

KU has done a ton for the city of lawrence since Lew has been here and if the chamber of commerce is going to complain, perhaps they should pony up and give something back. KU makes an extra million dollars over the course of two years for moving this game to KC. If the city is going to lose such a large amount of money from this game, maybe they can pool together an extra 500,000 dollars a year in donations to keep the game here. Everybody talks about how much money Lawrence loses if we move the game, but nobody talks about how much money KU loses if we stay.

February 11, 2007 at 5:39 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Once again you saved me a bunch of typing JBurtin-Thanks.
Football ticket prices are going up everywhere despite success or lack there of.

February 11, 2007 at 6:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Two things:

1) The extra basketball games brought in are worthless teams that do us absolutely no good as a program. Dartmouth?? Winston-Salem State?? Detroit Mercy?? We are KANSAS for cryin' out loud!! Who cares whether we bring in three extra CRAP teams into AFH? Geez, I'd rather go out and play some TOUGH teams.

2) I am definitely not sold that an extra million dollars is worth messing with the tradition of KU-MU being played on each others' campuses. A million dollars isn't really as much as it used to be, and I'm not sure how it is going to drastically change anything for our program. And yes, I know that the game was originally played in KC, but it hasn't been for a LONG time and the atmosphere in Lawrence for the Mizzou game has gotten better and better each year--it seems like a horrible time to change that. I just plain don't like this move, but with that said, I will most definitely will be attending the game because I am a Kansas Football fan first and foremost--there is no reason why a STUPID move by Lew should cost the team their fans. To those of you who also oppose the move and because of that have said you will not be attending--shame on you--even though we don't like it, we should still be 'Hawk Football fans and support our team (even if it is in a DUMP of a stadium!)

p.s. - Florida International for Mizzou doesn't exactly strike me as a fair trade. I'm just saying.......

February 12, 2007 at 2:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

skipper (anonymous) says...

At least missouri fans have the option to not purchase tickets to this game. Our new consultant will probably tell us what a great move this is.

February 12, 2007 at 3:07 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Kirk (anonymous) says...

I'm not terribly worried about Lawrence merchants, but....

It's a college football game. Play it on a college campus.

February 12, 2007 at 6:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

skipper (anonymous) says...

Get ready jayhawk fan's Pay Per View TV for Jayhawk
home Basketball games will be big lew's next money making plan.

February 12, 2007 at 9:52 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kuprrthd (anonymous) says...

This is like a 10 year old asking for more allowance, because I need it. How much money have the businesses made off the football games, KU students, parents, etc.?
The move to Arrowhead is to strengthen the football program which, stay with me, means more fans, which means more people downtown spending money in the future.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you

February 13, 2007 at 9:52 a.m. ( | suggest removal )