By Kenny Lannou, K-State Athletics Communications
As construction continues on schedule for an early August completion of the Vanier Football Complex, K-State Athletics has announced details for the new “Wabash Landing,” a premium group area in the Northwest corner of Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The two-tier Wabash Landing will be an attractive opportunity for groups of up to 150 guests to watch the Wildcats. Starting at an estimated cost of $10,000 per game, the Wabash Landing will include 100 game tickets and access to a catered concessions buffet with a variety of premium food items, soft drinks, beer and wine (through the end of halftime). Groups will be required to purchase the entire space and will have access to up to 50 additional tickets depending on the size of their party.
“As we close in on three months until the start of football season, we are excited to offer the new Wabash Landing premium area to Wildcat fans,” said Scott Garrett, Associate A.D. for Ticketing and Fan Strategies. “The space is another illustration to our commitment to the Best Fan Experience in the Big 12 and know our fans will find it to be a very entertaining and enjoyable experience.”
Costs for the 2015 season are estimated at $10,000 for games vs. South Dakota and Louisiana Tech, $13,000 for the Baylor, Iowa State, or West Virginia games and $15,000 for the TCU or Oklahoma games. All purchases include a $2,000 donation to the Ahearn Fund, K-State’s national fund for student-athlete excellence.
The initial reservations for the Wabash Landing will occur in athletic department priority point order for those that join the waiting list by Friday, June 12. If available, all remaining games will be made available to public groups beginning Wednesday, June 24. For more information, fans are asked to contact Adam Prough in the K-State Athletics Fan Experience & Sales Office at 785.532.6650.
The Vanier Football Complex project, led by the world-renowned sports design firm Populous in conjunction with the Construction Management team of Mortenson & GE Johnson Construction, remains on track to be completed on time in order for the football program, Sports Medicine and Strength and Conditioning operations to move in prior to fall practice beginning in early August. Other athletic department staff, including the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center (formerly known as the Academic Learning Center), Compliance Services, Athletic Director’s Office, Ahearn Fund and Business Operations will move in prior to the start of fall semester classes.
The 132,000-square foot facility will provide a new Student-Athlete Enhancement Center, an 18,000-square-foot Olympic-quality Strength and Conditioning Center and a new sports medicine and recovery facility with state-of-the-art hydrotherapy and recovery pools. The football program will benefit from new individual position meeting rooms and offices for the coaching staff that will overlook Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The team will also welcome an impressive new football-shaped locker room which will be more than twice the size of the previous space.
The new north seating bowl will include enhanced sightlines, ADA seating, a new Daktronics videoboard and will be connected to the current west-side stadium concourse for access to entrance gates and stadium concessions and restrooms.
As fans may recall, additional plans call for construction of a structure on the northeast side of the new facility – Phase 3B of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium Master Plan – that will connect to the east-side concourse and fully enclose the stadium. This addition will house visiting team locker, training and officials areas, plus additional office space as well as a new videoboard that will mirror the board that has been erected on the northwest side of the stadium. While a specific timeline has not been determined, design and fundraising work is actively underway with a goal to move forward as soon as it is fiscally responsible to do so.
