Rachel Seymour

Turner Construction employees work Monday on the Booth Family Hall of Athletics being added onto Allen Fieldhouse. Although there is no set date for the finished product, it is expected to be done before the start of the basketball season in November.

Tradition will continue to grow at Allen Fieldhouse this fall with the addition of a memorabilia museum. It will include interactive displays, trophy cases and pictures celebrating the traditions of athletics at the University.

Construction crews will continue to work throughout the summer on the new Booth Family Hall of Athletics, which will be added onto the east side of the Fieldhouse.

The ground-breaking ceremony was May 21, and construction began the next week, Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said. He expects completion before basketball season begins in November, but the opening date has not yet been set.

“We wanted someplace where we could celebrate KU athletics,” Marchiony said.

The cost for the new hall would be between $6 and $8 million, with the Booth family donating more than $4 million, Marchiony said. The donors grew up off of Naismith Drive, but have since moved away. They made the donation in honor of their parents.

The idea for the new hall came from Lew Perkins, athletics director.

“The concept is something Lew has talked about since he arrived at KU,” Marchiony said.

After the idea took shape, the Athletics Department shared its idea with possible donors, Marchiony said. The Booth family also contributed ideas to the structure.

Architects and designers bid for the job, which was ultimately given to HOK Construction. The Athletics Department was happy with the design firm, Marchiony said, which renovated the Jacksonville stadium for Super Bowl XXXIX.

The addition will be made from the same materials as the fieldhouse, which turned 50 this past year Marchiony said.

The only possible change to the exterior grounds may be the position of the Phog Allen statue Marchiony said.

“It may have to be moved,” Marchiony said. “But it will be a prominent part of the Hall of Athletics.”

During and after construction the Athletics Department will sell commemorative pavers, Marchiony said. The pavers will be bricks that customers can purchase and have inscribed with whatever message they would like and that will fit. The pavers will come in two sizes; the smaller size is a six-inch square that will cost $350, and the bigger size is a one-foot square that will cost $600. Not everyone is as pleased with the addition as Marchiony.

“I think it’s corporate, it’s about more ways to make money,” Matt Moreno, Wichita junior, said.