LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas plans to temporary close The Booth Family Hall of Athletics, located inside KU’s Allen Fieldhouse, for approximately six months while a renovation takes place.
According to a release from the University of Kansas Athletics office, the hall will close after Tuesday’s men’s basketball game to accommodate the Fieldhouse phase of the construction of the DeBruce Center. The center, which will connect to the northeast corner of the Fieldhouse, will eventually serve as the official home of James Naismith’s Original Rules of Basketball.
The hall is set to reopen, resuming tours, about mid-September. While the hall is closed, the KUStore Gift Shop will remain open.
The renovation work on the Fieldhouse’s northeast corner will not affect the KU commencement events which are scheduled for the Fieldhouse, or any summer camps, such as boys and girls basketball, girls volleyball, which plan to use the Naismith Court in the Fieldhouse during the summer months.
According to the release the renovation will expand the Hall of Athletics experience, and will include exhibits celebrating the legendary career of iconic KU basketball coach Phog Allen and his relationship with Naismith. It will serve as a corridor leading to the DeBruce Center and an exhibit that highlights Naismith’s contributions to KU and the world through basketball, fitness and character.
The DeBruce Center renovation is scheduled to be completed in spring 2016, and also involves upgrades to the second-floor northeast concourse similar to those that were made to the first level of the Fieldhouse in 2009. In addition to the exhibits, plans include a new staircase from the Hall of Athletics to the second level of the Fieldhouse, enhanced concessions and expanded merchandising.
Source: Kansas Athletics