Booth Family Hall of Athletics Groundbreaking Ceremony Takes Place
May 21, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. – More than 200 University of Kansas dignitaries and fans joined in groundbreaking ceremonies for the Booth Family Hall of Athletics at the construction site on the east side of Allen Fieldhouse Saturday, May 21.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Athletics Director Lew Perkins, and Mark and David Booth each addressed the crowd for the mornings’ activities.
“Today is about a celebration. It’s about being happy. It’s about being excited. It’s about saying thank you to the Booth family,” Perkins said. “The Booth family has been absolutely wonderful to contribute to this great project and help us honor the people that need to be honored from the past and the future.
“This is going to be a magnificent facility and we hope it will be one of the best in the country,” Perkins added. “It’s going to give an opportunity for many people to share in the memories, the excitement and the history of KU athletics.”
The construction of the Booth Family Hall of Athletics began earlier this month. This reality of the addition to Allen Fieldhouse is being made possible through the generosity of the children and grandchildren of the late Jayhawk fans and Lawrence residents, Gilbert and Betty Booth.
“I feel very privileged to be a part of this today because it is a very special occasion,” Hemenway said. “It is an occasion that could not occur without the Booth family support for the university and KU athletics.”
A combined total of more than $5 million was donated by David and Suzanne Booth, and their children, Erin and Chandler; Mark and Lauren Bacich Booth, and their children, Miles, Coco, and Cyrus; Mark and Jane (Booth) Berkley, and their children and spouses, Stuart and Tina Berkley, Elizabeth and Pete Reininga, and Melissa and Marko Ungashick.
“We are doing this in memory of our parents,” David Booth said. “This year marks 20 years ago my dad passed away and 10 years ago my mom. This is a good way to reconnect back and a way that would have been really special to them. It’s about as good as it gets.”
The Booth Family Hall of Athletics will serve to recognize all past KU alumni varsity athletes. This magnificent addition to Allen Fieldhouse will only add to the beauty and the legacy of the greatest and most historic collegiate basketball arena in the country.
“We literally grew up a stones throw away, so the emotional component of this is hard to overstate,” Mark Booth said. “Our parents were integrally involved in Kansas basketball. They had very few things they owned but one thing they owned were two tickets to the chair seats in Allen Fieldhouse. I think they would be thrilled to have this moment and I think this is great for the university.”
David G. Booth founded Dimensional Fund Advisors in 1981 and is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment officer of the firm, a registered investment advisor with over $60 billion under management. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Chicago, London and Sydney. Dimensional Fund Advisors has developed a reputation for successfully applying leading-edge academic research to money management.
Mr. Booth earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas, and in 1971 received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Booth is a Trustee of the University of Chicago and Chairman of the University of Chicago Investment Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Council of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome and the Brentwood School. He serves on the Board of Governors of the UCLA Foundation, and is a member of the UCLA Foundation’s Investment Committee. In addition he is a member of the Paintings Conservation Council of the J. Paul Getty Trust and the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth.
Mark Booth is Chairman and CEO of NetJets Europe. NetJets is the fastest-growing private aviation firm worldwide.
Until August 2001, Mark Booth was the General Partner of epartners, a subsidiary of News Corporation formed in June 1999. epartners invested in early stage technology companies.
Mr. Booth was Chief Executive and Managing Director of the United Kingdom’s major pay television operation, British Sky Broadcasting Limited, from November 1997 to June 1999, during which time he led the transition from analogue to digital. The Sky launch was the fastest digital subscriber launch globally. In addition, during this period he served as Chairman of Open, the interactive digital platform.
Mr. Booth joined BskyB from JskyB in Japan, where he was the Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity Mr. Booth was responsible for putting together the original strategy for the business. Sony and Fuji were brought into the partnership during his tenure.
Mr. Booth was the founding Chief Executive of Foxtel in 1994. Under his leadership, Foxtel, a joint venture of News Limited and Telstra became the leading pay television operator in Australia.
Prior to joining Foxtel, Mr. Booth was President of UIH Programming (now United Global Communications), and Managing Director and Chief Executive of Maxwell Entertainment. Mr. Booth was responsible for the launch of MTV Europe as its founding Chief Executive. In addition, he was part of the original MTV Networks management team in America.
Mr. Booth is a director of Special Olympics in Washington, D.C., and a Trustee of the Serpentine Gallery, London. Mr. Booth holds a B.A. degree from the University of Kansas. Mr. Booth is a native of Kansas.
The Booth Family Hall of Athletics will total more that 26,000 square feet and carries a project cost of more than $8 million. Its primary mission will be to display memorabilia of KU’s historic athletic programs, past and current. It will also feature a new Naismith Meeting Room, Jayhawk Den, and retail store for KU apparel. The facade of the Hall will be natural stone to match Allen Fieldhouse’s original stone, with matching windows, which are champagne colored aluminum with insulated tinted glass. The 26,000 square feet includes:
Main Display Area First Floor
New — 10930 sf
Renovated — 7015 sf
Second Floor
New — 7560 sf
Renovated — 500 sf
Exhibit Hall — 8415 sf
Main Floor — 7275 sf
Balcony — 1140 sf
Naismith Lounge — 2260 sf
Jayhawk Den — 400 sf
KU Store — 1690 sf
Ticket Office — 1230 sf (4 exterior windows; 2 interior windows)
New Men’s and Women’s Restrooms
Terrazzo 38-foot Jayhawk
Large Skylight at entry
The University of Kansas has contracted HOK Sport + Venue + Event, an internationally renowned architectural firm, headquartered in Kansas City, to provide architectural services for Booth Family Hall of Athletics.
Founded in 1983, HOK Sport + Venue + Event created the first architectural practice devoted to the design of sports facilities and is now recognized as a world leader in the field. Its client list includes over 100 colleges and universities, 24 Major League Baseball franchises and 30 National Football League franchises. The company has been involved with over 800 sports projects, with many containing significant Hall of Fame and Memorabilia Display Components.
The Booth Family Hall of Athletics will open prior to the first basketball game of the 2005-06 season in Allen Fieldhouse.
