Regents OK Name of Future Football Facility

Feb. 16, 2006

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents today at its monthly meeting granted the University of Kansas permission to name a planned football facility near Memorial Stadium the Anderson Family Football Complex. In addition, the university has announced it will name the field inside the stadium Kivisto Field.

The names, which were approved earlier by Chancellor Robert Hemenway, recognize primary donors for the $31 million football complex: the Kivistos (former KU basketball team captain Tom Kivisto and his wife, Julie) and the Andersons (Dana and Sue, and their son, Justin, and his wife, Jean).

Anderson and his family have contributed $2 million to the project and committed an additional $10 million. The Kivisto family has contributed $4 million and committed an additional $8 million. Several other families — Charles and Sharon Lynch Kimbell of Hutchinson, Frank Sabatini and family of Topeka and Ken Wagnon of Wichita — have contributed to the project as well.

The football complex will be built adjacent to Memorial Stadium but will not interfere with the KU graduation tradition of walking down Campanile Hill to the stadium. The building will include offices, academic areas, a weight room, locker rooms, an audio-visual room, meeting rooms, a cardio room, a hydro-therapy room, a nutrition area and a display area.

HNTB Architecture of Kansas City, Mo., has been selected to produce the architectural program outlining space needs and estimated costs, for review by the Regents and the legislature’s Joint Committee for Building Construction. After that, plans and specifications will be drawn for construction. The architectural firm will work with the university building committee to develop and select the design and site for the project.

It is anticipated that construction will begin in 2007 and the facility completed in summer 2008.

–KU–