Family-friendly season kickoff party planned for Saturday, Aug. 24
Some gamers are getting a glimpse of what the renovated Kansas football stadium will look like once construction is complete.
An update to EA Sports College Football 25 on Thursday has blasted the team into the future — virtually, anyway.
The most notable difference to the stadium in the game is the way it is encircled on three sides with wheat-themed light fixtures.
As for games against Mizzou, as shown here — the Border Showdown series is planned to resume with games in 2025, 2026, 2031 and 2032, with odd-year games to be played in Columbia, Missouri, and even-year games to be played in Lawrence.
In the real world, however, just a few of the wheat-themed lights have gone up around the north side of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium thus far.
Construction underway this year means the team’s games are being held in Kansas City, at Arrowhead or Sporting Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park. But phase one of construction is supposed to wrap in time for the team’s 2025 season to begin.
KU football will host a celebration of the start of the season as part of the Downtown Lawrence Welcome Back Jayhawks Weekend, a celebration that will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24. The family-friendly 2nd Annual Lawrence Kickoff Party is set for 5 to 8 p.m. the same day on Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence.
“Fans will have the opportunity to hear from Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold, Director of Athletics Travis Goff and more on a main stage built on the street towards the south end of South Park,” according to a KU Athletics news release about the event. “Kansas fans will also have the opportunity to shop the latest KU merchandise within a Rally House pop-up shop.”
The event is free to attend and will include tailgating games, food trucks, inflatables, face painting, balloon artists and more, according to the release.
The Jayhawks last year won a bowl game for the first time in 15 years and went 9-4 on the season. Leipold in February signed an amended contract with KU that runs through April 2030.
The team’s first game of the season is against the Lindenwood Lions at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 at Children’s Mercy Park. It will stream on ESPN+.
Read more about the stadium project in the articles at this link. See a live view of construction underway on the KU Gateway District’s website at this link.
Here are some renderings and snapshots of the stadium and construction over time:
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
