The University of Kansas has received an unprecedented $300 million gift from donor David Booth, believed to be among the largest single gifts in the history of college athletics and the largest in school history.
Kansas plans to allocate $75 million of Booth’s gift toward launching the second phase of its ongoing transformation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and construction of the surrounding Gateway District, Kansas athletic director Travis Goff told ESPN.
Though school officials have not revealed a timetable for construction and completion of Phase 2, the funds will allow Kansas to move forward with renovating the east side of the stadium after the 2025 football season.
The remainder of Booth’s gift will establish an annual additional revenue stream for Kansas athletics, Goff said.
“I’d say it’s transformative and a game changer,” Goff told ESPN. “This gift makes an immediate impact on our top priority in a profound way, and it also provides us with an incredible revenue stream that gives us a chance to really invest in unique ways in the future of Kansas athletics.”
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Kansas has already invested $450 million in the first phase of the Gateway District project, which included an overhaul of the southwest, west and north sides of the stadium and a major renovation of the Anderson Family Football Complex. Stadium construction got underway at the end of the 2023 football season and will be completed in time for the Jayhawks’ season opener later this month.
The second phase of the Gateway District project would also bring the development of a new hotel, outdoor event plaza, student housing, retail and restaurant spaces and parking located east of Kansas Memorial Stadium.
The total cost of Phase 2 — finishing the stadium and the mixed-use development — is estimated to be $360 million. Lawrence city commissioners voted Tuesday night to approve a package of financial and tax incentives worth around $94 million to support the project.
Kansas Memorial Stadium was named after Booth, a KU graduate and founder of global investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors, in 2018. The Lawrence, Kansas, native previously provided a foundational gift of $50 million in 2017 to kick off renovations of Memorial Stadium, but the university didn’t move forward with renovating its more than 100-year-old stadium until Goff and chancellor Douglas Girod announced plans for the Gateway District in 2022.
“One of life’s greatest privileges is being able to give back to the people and places that gave so much to you,” Booth said in a statement. “KU and Lawrence are a big part of my story, and it means a lot to support the community that invested in me. Philanthropy, like investing, pays dividends over time. Each gift compounds, creating opportunities not just for today, but for years to come. This is really about the future we’re building.”
After playing their six home games in the Kansas City area during the 2024 season, the Jayhawks will open the season with their first home game inside the renovated Kansas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 23 against Fresno State.
