The “home of the Chiefs” chant that has punctuated the national anthem at many a Kansas football game over the years will never be more appropriate than in 2024.
As a result of the ongoing renovations to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and the Gateway District project, KU officially announced Tuesday that it will play its four Big 12 Conference home games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Chiefs’ stadium with a seating capacity of 76,416.
That will follow two nonconference games at the more intimate Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, the home of soccer team Sporting Kansas City, which for soccer features 18,467 seats and space for an additional 2,000 in the Home Members Stand.
“It has been a thrill to see construction begin in earnest in Lawrence on the Gateway District and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium,” athletic director Travis Goff said in a press release, “and this decision allows that construction to continue on a necessary timeline while also benefiting the overall budget of the project and the 2024 fan experience.”
Chancellor Douglas Girod had told the Journal-World in December that the disruptions to the stadium as a result of construction on its north and west stands were more substantial than he may have envisioned, and that construction company Turner Construction had said every home game played there would add about a week onto the duration of the project.
Indeed, in the press release, Turner’s Operations Manager Joshua Jones said that “the project team has recognized that hosting all home KU Football Games in 2024 at alternate locations creates a safer and more efficient environment to complete this project … This decision creates the best path forward for our project team to successfully complete the new construction and renovations for the launch of the 2025 football season.”
While Children’s Mercy Park is primarily used for soccer, it has also hosted American football in the past, including the NCAA Division II title game for four seasons in the 2010s.
KU has played at Arrowhead on occasion in the past, such as for rivalry games against Missouri, or for the 2005 Oklahoma game.
The announcement brings to an end months of speculation about KU’s potential home venues for 2024. The school originally planned to play in a reduced-capacity version of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium but has decided to eschew that facility entirely.
KU stated in the release that it hopes to facilitate student transportation to the games, that 3,500 student tickets will be allotted for Children’s Mercy Park and that the number of students at Arrowhead Stadium will “match or exceed” the size of the student section at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
KU is selling season-ticket packages, as well as four-game packages specific to Arrowhead. It does not expect to sell single-game tickets for the Children’s Mercy Park games “due to season ticket holder demand.”
“We recognize this move is not ideal for some members of the Lawrence community,” Girod said in the release, “and we hope they will understand this is a necessary one-year move to ensure the Gateway District can begin benefitting Lawrence as soon as possible in 2025.”
Added head coach Lance Leipold: “This is an exciting move for our team as these are two well respected and exciting venues to watch a sporting event. I’m confident our fans will be able to create a ‘home field’ that our players will be energized to play in.”
Girod had previously told the Journal-World that Children’s Mercy Park was not a likely option because past football games have damaged the soccer turf. It clearly reemerged, and it will be where the Jayhawks open the season against Football Championship Subdivision foe Lindenwood for a Thursday night game on Aug. 29, then host UNLV for a Guaranteed Rate Bowl rematch on Sept. 14. In between, KU will travel to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the Illini, whom they defeated in 2023.
The games at Arrowhead include TCU (Sept. 28), Houston (Oct. 19), Iowa State (Nov. 9) and one of the new Big 12 foes, Deion Sanders’ Colorado (Nov. 23).
Road dates in the Big 12 slate are at West Virginia for the league opener (Sept. 21), at newcomer Arizona State (Oct. 5), at Kansas State for an early Sunflower Showdown (Oct. 26), at BYU (Nov. 16) and at Baylor to conclude the regular season (Nov. 30).
KU has two open dates in a four-week span (Oct. 12 and Nov. 2).
Commencement ceremonies will still be held at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
As for the concerns of local businesses in Lawrence who may not reap the same rewards they do during a typical football season, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bonnie Lowe said in the release that “we understand that growth of this magnitude comes with challenges. We have an opportunity for our businesses to showcase what they’re known for – their innovation and creativity – in finding fun, new ways to watch and celebrate KU Football. When we think about the new stadium, the Gateway District, and the conference center on the horizon for Lawrence, we will be well posed for future success.”
2024 Kansas football schedule
Thursday, Aug. 29 — vs. Lindenwood
Saturday, Sept. 7 — at Illinois
Saturday, Sept. 14 — vs. UNLV
Saturday, Sept. 21 — at West Virginia
Saturday, Sept. 28 — vs. TCU
Saturday, Oct. 5 — at Arizona State
Saturday, Oct. 12 — Bye week
Saturday, Oct. 19 — vs. Houston
Saturday, Oct. 26 — at Kansas State
Saturday, Nov. 2 — Bye week
Saturday, Nov. 9 — vs. Iowa State
Saturday, Nov. 16 — at BYU
Saturday, Nov. 23 — vs. Colorado
Saturday, Nov. 30 — at Baylor