KU making more improvements for Iowa State game

With the success the Jayhawks are having on the football field it is bringing in more people to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Last week brought a sellout crowd and with that comes challenges with concessions and the gameday atmosphere.

Jason Booker, the Deputy Athletics Director for External Affairs and Revenue Generation, said they are always looking for ways to improve the fan experience.

“I think the biggest thing for us is, is we can improve on the gameday experience each week,” Booker told Jayhawk Slant. “Certainly, there are some opportunities for improvement for next week. We had more staff and more product than we've ever stocked before, for last weekend's games.”

Booker said they have members of the administration walk the concourses, observe the lines, and will time the concession lines.

“We try understanding where some of those pressure points are,” he said. “We look at where we can add some additional concession stands locations.”

There will be more changes this week for the Iowa State game. They will have “hawkers” selling in the stadium and they are adding more ways for concession workers to check out fans and speed up the lines.

“We’re going add 20 new points of sale around the stadium around the outer perimeter in the south, east and west,” Booker said. “Then we’re going to also add hawkers, so we'll have people actually selling in the stands and also selling in the concourse.

He continued: “That's something that Centerplate, our concessions partner, is committed to adding additional staff to be able to do that. They will have credit cards, so hawkers won't have cash. It'll be solely credit cards and handheld credit card machines. Hopefully, adding some additional points of sale in areas where people can buy will help alleviate some of that pressure and longer lines.”

The administration said they listen to the fan base each week. They have made upgrades to the concessions and will continue to do so. There are still drawbacks to the stadium, but they want to continue to improve what they can control.

“There are limitations to what we have in the stadium,” Booker said. “Hopefully as we're contemplating renovations that can help in those areas. But that doesn't mean we're going to sit idle and just say, ‘Hey, you know it's a stadium problem.’ There are ways we can continue to improve and get better, and that's our objective every week.”

For the Duke game they added new televisions in the concourses so fans can stay engaged with the game. This week they will add “cash only” concessions that will be clearly marked in certain areas.

Booker said one point of emphasis was fans being aware they can bring in an unopened bottle of water.

“I think it’s an important reminder, people can bring in an unopened bottle of water,” he said. “And we have four different water refill stations around the concourse that people can refill their water there.”

There will be a Happy Hour inside the stadium from 1:00-:200 p.m. Booker said they will have discounted food and drinks, and it helps get people in the stadium early.

The football team’s 4-0 start has brought a lot of excitement and they are getting ready for a big weekend that starts Friday night. Country artist Chris Lane will perform downtown.

“There’s a lot of energy with the team and Homecoming this week,” Booker said. “We’re working with the Alumni Association and our partners at Central Bank and Adidas. We're providing a Homecoming concert downtown with Chris Lane. We want to make it a great opportunity for fans to want to come back and participate in that and then come to the game Saturday.”