Those who attended say concession stand issues at KU's Memorial Stadium are much less of an issue in Week 5 | Tale of the Taito

Posted by Matt Taito

October 3, 2022 at 9:25 am

One of the new cash-only concession stands in the outer concourse of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is shown here about an hour before KU’s recent home game against Iowa State on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
by Matt Taito

It may be hard to believe, but it was just a week ago when issues with KU’s concessions at a crowded David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium were as big a topic among KU fans as the Jayhawks’ red-hot start. for the season.

The Jayhawks remained popular throughout the weekend, and fans responded positively to the improvements KU made to address the concessions during the second sold-out game of the season.

As a result, the Jayhawks’ national rankings, the 5-0 record, and an upcoming visit from ESPN’s College Gameday are all much bigger topics these days than the issues with the stadium’s concession stand.

I haven’t seen it myself. But there were plenty of people willing to share their thoughts on how week 5 was going compared to the mess they encountered a week earlier.

For what it’s worth, I did a few laps of the stadium halls during the pre-match last Saturday, both to see how full it was and where they’d set up the new outlets, and then things looked pretty quiet.

It sounds like it has stayed that way in most areas. It’s important to note that no one said it was perfect and it seems there were still a few issues. But the response has been quite positive, and it’s clear that KU fans appreciated the efforts the KU administration put in trying to get the KU concession booths up and running in an imperfect location as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Today, the most popular complaint seems to be how bad cell phone service is during games at DBKMS, but that seems to be as much of an issue with Verizon, T-Mobile, and others as it is a KU issue.

Here’s a look at some of the concession stand feedback I’ve received from fans in attendance for KU’s 11-14 win over Iowa State:

1000% better. Hats off to the KU for turning that around so quickly. Still room to get better, but that was great to see.

— RedNBlueKU (@StephenLbergman) October 3, 2022

by means of RedNBlueKU

Everything seemed much more organized. Due to the early start time, they can expect a lot more in line for this Saturday. They won’t make do with a remodel in the near future, but more TVs to watch on every level so you can watch while you wait.

— Kathy Habiger (@KHHabs) October 3, 2022

by means of Kathy Habiger

Still not great…better than the first week…which was terrible…but still needs improvement

— Andrew Luna (@GBDAD99) October 3, 2022

by means of Andrew Luna

Huge improvement. Kudos to KU Athletics. I couldn’t get a beer last week. Yesterday I had to wait two minutes at one of the many “cash only” stands. Good job!

— Blumey (@Mikeblumey) October 3, 2022

by means of Blumey

Pretty good, tbh. My beer wait time had dropped from 39 minutes vs. Duke to about 4 minutes vs. ISU. A night and day difference that many people (including you) believe would be impossible without a new stadium.

— Sean Carver (@FakeSeanCarver) October 3, 2022

by means of Sean Carver

The best they could for the space they had to work with. Show how much the new stadium is needed.

— Ryan Goodwin (@rgoodwin5) October 2, 2022

by means of Ryan Goodwin

Easy this week 2 minutes before half no waiting time and 35 minutes before the game!!! Upper level between 3/4.

— Robert Mills (@KansasCity34) October 2, 2022

by means of Robert Mills

Sooo much better. I haven’t seen any peddlers in my part of the family zone. I’m sure there is a reason, but wouldn’t it make more sense to put the port-a-potties in the outside hall and move the new cash-only beer lines inside?

— Heidi Simon (@HeidiJHawk) October 3, 2022

by means of Heidi Simon

At one point we are limited by the space in the stadium, but it was probably about as good as we can make it at this point. Kudos to @KUAthletics to listen to the fans and take action

— Matt Franzenburg (@frazmatazz) October 2, 2022

by means of Matt Franzenburg

Complete transformation. The longest line I was in was maybe 5 minutes. It was also easy to walk around without having to weave through lines. @KUAthletics responded well to feedback. #kufball

— Fake 1923 Jayhawk (@Fake1923Jayhawk) October 2, 2022

by means of Fake 1923 Jayhawk

A breath of wind! The concessions on the outside hall were great too. My 3 year old gave up two thumbs up for the Kona Ice Truck.

— Amy Duckers, DPT (@amyleigh1920) October 2, 2022

by means of Amy Duckers, DPT

It was a significant improvement. For one of the concession lines they added ropes and had one line and then the front person went to the next open till, it was significantly faster. I also saw Booker taking in things in the crowd.

— Little Hawk (@PixelHawk0) October 2, 2022

by means of Bit Hawk

I was much better, but still not great. . . the “hawkers” we are just downstairs thought they would walk into the stadium. But lines were bearable. Can definitely improve though

— Joe Cool (@_Not_ur_Avg_Joe) October 3, 2022

by means of Joe Cool

Loved having cash only. (And I thought they were very well marked). Only waited 2 minutes for a beer pre game.

— Ali (@Ali4jhox) October 2, 2022

by means of Ali

Best I’ve experienced. Lots of beer places around the outer hall, that’s all we were looking for.

— beak (@age913) October 2, 2022

by means of beak

Water refill stations were great, the side stands of local restaurants always had short lines. The concession lines were a little long, but my mom and brother were in them and it didn’t take too long. I didn’t see anyone smuggling beer in the stands?

— Michael Estrada (@They_call_me_po) October 3, 2022

by means of Michael Estrada