Booth Family breaks ground for new Hall of Athletics

More than 200 KU 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 May 21.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Athletics Director Lew Perkins, and Mark and David Booth each addressed the crowd for the morning’s 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. 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 in early May. 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.

A total of more than $5 million was donated to the Kansas University Endowment Association by David, c’68, g’69, and Suzanne Booth, and their children, Erin and Chandler; Mark, c’78, and Lauren Bacich Booth, and their children, Miles, Coco, and Cyrus; and Mark and Jane Booth Berkley, ’67, and their children and spouses, Stuart, c’90, 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 recognize all past KU alumni varsity athletes. The structure will span 26,000 square feet and cost more than $8 million. Along with its extensive displays of memorabilia, the hall will feature a new Naismith Meeting Room, Jayhawk Den, and retail store for KU apparel.  The facade will be of natural stone to match Allen Fieldhouse's original stone, with matching windows.

The University of Kansas has contracted with HOK Sport + Venue + Event, an internationally renowned architectural firm headquartered in Kansas City, to provide architectural services for Booth Family Hall of Athletics.