I know I'll get ridiculed for even suggesting a new stadium, but if KU is looking at a $200 million+ amount, I really think we should look at a new stadium. The parcel on west campus is a beautiful topographic parcel of land and a significantly larger area than around Memorial Stadium. It would still be an on campus stadium and have a little better access being surrounding by 4 lane parkways.
Map overlay of Bob Billings & Kasold parcel (to compare site size to Memorial)
http://mapfrappe.com/?show=33870
Besides the highlighted area, you would have additional parking at the Lied Center plus more parking around Schenk. And that's without adding any other parking near the other west campus buildings.
Google Earth look at west campus area
https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...0x87bf40c7ce479883:0x151713d50478ab2e!6m1!1e1
Having the extra space would give us the opportunity to build a real tailgating culture and capture even more fans. Right now, if you want to tailgate around the stadium, you need to donate $2500/yr. minimum and every year they're projecting that to increase to $5000. Currently, you either need to know someone that's giving big bucks or you have to secure some other option and you're further away or have to carry your tailgating equipment quite a ways. When the Chiefs rebuilt in the late 80s/90s, emphasizing a tailgating culture was one of the key ways they helped bring fans back (Chiefs drew as few as 11,000 fans for a game in '83). K-State did the same building a tailgating culture. There are massive tailgating scenes most places you go to a game besides KU. I know people think KU does a good job, but there's really a handful of groups in a relatively small area that have done a good job. The masses aren't tailgating at KU and it's a big reason attendance drops off a cliff when the team goes through a bad stretch.
Tailgating aside, we'd also have the opportunity to design the "perfect" stadium for creating a homefield advantage, premium amenities (to generate cash), and an opportunity to build a new football tradition. We wouldn't be restricted by the old bones of Memorial.
Map overlay of Bob Billings & Kasold parcel (to compare site size to Memorial)
http://mapfrappe.com/?show=33870
Besides the highlighted area, you would have additional parking at the Lied Center plus more parking around Schenk. And that's without adding any other parking near the other west campus buildings.
Google Earth look at west campus area
https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...0x87bf40c7ce479883:0x151713d50478ab2e!6m1!1e1
Having the extra space would give us the opportunity to build a real tailgating culture and capture even more fans. Right now, if you want to tailgate around the stadium, you need to donate $2500/yr. minimum and every year they're projecting that to increase to $5000. Currently, you either need to know someone that's giving big bucks or you have to secure some other option and you're further away or have to carry your tailgating equipment quite a ways. When the Chiefs rebuilt in the late 80s/90s, emphasizing a tailgating culture was one of the key ways they helped bring fans back (Chiefs drew as few as 11,000 fans for a game in '83). K-State did the same building a tailgating culture. There are massive tailgating scenes most places you go to a game besides KU. I know people think KU does a good job, but there's really a handful of groups in a relatively small area that have done a good job. The masses aren't tailgating at KU and it's a big reason attendance drops off a cliff when the team goes through a bad stretch.
Tailgating aside, we'd also have the opportunity to design the "perfect" stadium for creating a homefield advantage, premium amenities (to generate cash), and an opportunity to build a new football tradition. We wouldn't be restricted by the old bones of Memorial.
