LAWRENCE, Kan. — David A. Booth Memorial Stadium at the University of Kansas was first built in 1921. It's had it's fair share of upgrades throughout the years, but as we enter a new era in KU football, it's due for some more.
It comes at a time when people are getting excited about football season, especially after last year's success and six game winning streak. It made KU football fun again.
"To be a student and walk in to a sold out stadium for the first time in 20 years of seeing an empty stadium, I mean, it was pretty fun, pretty exciting, [I] kinda shed a tear," said Collin Farha, a rising senior.
Fresh off that last football season, KU Athletics is pitching a fresh look for Memorial Stadium. On Tuesday, they unveiled the latest renderings for the new stadium.
"Whatever changes they do make, or however they plan to do that can only help make it more exciting, I think," said Christopher Anderson, another rising senior.
While he's excited for upgrades, Farha said he hopes to keep one staple of the stadium.
"I think they should keep the hill visible on the south side," Farha said. "I think that’s a very important part of the stadium. I mean back in the day before the scoreboard was there, you’d see students lined up on the hill, watching the game from the hill, seeing the Campanile, seeing campus. I think it’s really special."
Collin Farha's father, Rob Farha, has some other ideas.
"But we do need modernization when it comes to concession, bathrooms, suites," he said.
Rob Farha has owned KU's popular sports bar, the Wheel, for close to three decades now. He's seen the highs, but especially the lows, and last year's big wins meant big business for the bar.
"These football games were huge, and I couldn’t depend on them through that 10 year stretch anymore," Rob Farha said. "So, as a business guy, yeah this is big."
He agrees, the success comes with some much needed upgrades.
"It’s old, and it’s very... it’s not for the fan," Rob Farha said. "Underneath, no concourses, the bathrooms all of that."
But, he's optimistic a fresh start could lead KU football to even greater success.
"I’ve been here at the Wheel since 1997, through nine coaches, and through all these years," Rob Farha said. "You win, or at least be competitive, they will come, and this new coach has done that."
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