Most of the parking lots ringing David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium already belong to somebody else on a Kansas football Saturday. Eighteen different lots plus the Mississippi Street Garage require a Williams Fund donor permit just to pull in, and University of Kansas Parking Services is blunt about what that means for anything bigger than a sedan: “There is no RV parking near Memorial Stadium. RV parking is allowed only in Lot 90,” according to the official KU football game day parking page — a lot that sits a roughly 14-minute walk from the gates.
That's the exact question a group of 25 or 40 has to answer before it ever leaves Overland Park, Topeka, or downtown Lawrence: where does the bus actually go, and how far is that walk once it gets there?
Here's the short version. A charter bus or party bus with a permitted lot secured in advance can pull onto Mississippi Street or 11th Street and let your group off close to gates 2–3 on the west side or gates 5–6 on the northeast corner. Without a permitted lot, Lot 90 is the honest fallback — a real walk, but a known one, off Naismith Drive near the Ambler Student Recreation Center.
Below, we break down exactly how the permit system works, what the Gateway District construction changes for 2026, what a group actually pays to park a dozen cars versus one bus, and what size vehicle fits your group, using KU's own published parking and gameday pages rather than a guess. Rent a bus to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and the whole permit puzzle becomes somebody else's job to sort out before kickoff.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
The stadium sits at 1101 Mississippi Street, on the corner of 11th and Mississippi at the north edge of the KU campus, and the current gate map lists gates running from 1 through roughly 16, split between general-public, student, and premium or credentialed access. Per the KU Athletics gate access map, the box office sits “between gates 2-3 on the west side, five and six in the northeast corner, and near gate 10 in the southeast corner” — the three clusters most groups without a suite pass actually walk toward.
KU Parking doesn't publish a separate charter or party bus gate the way an NFL stadium does, and that's worth saying plainly rather than inventing one. What is published, and confirmed on the same page, is which lots require a permit at all: “A specific game permit issued by the Williams Fund is required to park in lots 1, 36, 39, 50, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 91, 94, 96, 97, 98 and the Mississippi Street Garage.” If your group has a permit for one of those lots, secured through your Lawrence group transportation booking or your own donor account, the bus can pull directly into the permitted lot and your group makes the same short walk to gates 2–3 or 5–6 that a car parked there would.
Without that permit, the drop-off plan changes. A 40-passenger party bus rental to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is far better off staging in a general lot and letting your group make one clean, coordinated walk rather than circling a permit-only lot looking for an opening that isn't there.
Lot 90: The Realistic Fallback Lot
Lot 90 is the one place KU explicitly clears for RVs and other oversized vehicles, and it works as a staging point for a charter bus group too. It sits off Naismith Drive near the Ambler Student Recreation Center and Capitol Federal Hall, roughly a 14-minute walk from the stadium gates — a route that climbs and drops through the middle of campus rather than running flat.
Because the published rule is written around personal RVs rather than motorcoaches, the honest move for a Lawrence charter bus rental group is a quick call to KU Parking Services at 785-864-7275 or [email protected] ahead of a specific game date to confirm current bus staging — the answer can shift by event, and nobody wants to find that out at a closed gate. When you book through Lawrenceminibuscompany.com, that confirmation call is part of getting your quote squared away, not something you're left to chase down solo.
The rule that trips groups up: “All vehicles that do not have a game permit must be removed from these lots and the garages by the time/date listed on temporary signs posted at the entrance,” per KU Parking — and a vehicle left behind faces a $100 fine and possible towing. A bus without a secured permit for the lot it's sitting in is not exempt from that rule.
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Parking: Permits, Prepaid Lots, and What It Costs
Unlike a pro stadium with a flat per-car gate rate, Kansas Memorial Stadium parking runs almost entirely on a donor-permit system. If your group doesn't hold Williams Fund permits, KU opens a narrower, prepaid option: “Prepaid parking will be available for those attending the game without a Williams Fund permit on the Monday prior to the game day” for lots 11 and 72 and the Allen Fieldhouse Garage, sold through the online parking portal “by CREDIT CARD ONLY” on a first-come, first-served basis until it sells out.
Accessible parking is the one price KU publishes outright: $35 per space, credit card only, in lots 59 (14 spaces), 94 (26 spaces), the Mississippi Street Garage (17 spaces), lot 54 (3 spaces), and lot 72 (13 spaces). Standard prepaid rates aren't posted ahead of the portal opening, which is exactly why groups calling around for pricing the week of a big game come up empty — and exactly why one flat quote from a Lawrence charter bus rental beats trying to time a parking portal for a dozen separate cars.
Do the math on a group of 30 driving in separately: even at a conservative campus-lot rate, that's 8 to 10 cars each needing its own prepaid permit purchased in the same narrow Monday-before window, each one a chance to get shut out if the portal sells through before your whole group logs on. One bus and one quote replaces all of it.
Rideshare, Shuttle & Transit to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium: The Honest Comparison
A private bus isn't automatically the right call for two people going to a game — let's be straight about that. Here's how the real options stack up for a Kansas football Saturday.
| Option | Cost shape | Arrives together? | Walk from drop to gate | Best group size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private charter or party bus | One flat rate, split by the group | Yes — one vehicle, one arrival | Short, if a permit lot is secured; otherwise the Lot 90 walk | 15–56 |
| Free KU gameday shuttle | Free, but you still need to reach Allen Fieldhouse Garage | Only if your group rides the same shuttle | Short from the shuttle stop | Small groups already on campus |
| Route 4 city bus (Lawrence Transit) | Standard city bus fare | Only if you catch the same bus | Short from the 7th & Vermont stop | 1–4 riding together |
| Rideshare | Per car each way, plus post-game demand pricing | No — multiple cars, multiple ETAs | Depends on drop point that day | 1–4 per car |
| Everyone drives | Permit per car, if the portal hasn't sold out | No — caravans split up looking for lots | Varies by lot assignment | 1–2 cars |
KU's own game day page points fans toward two coordinated alternatives worth knowing about even if you book a bus for the group as a whole. A free shuttle “operates three hours before kickoff through one hour after game completion,” with pickup outside the Allen Fieldhouse garage, and Lawrence Transit's Route 4 from downtown “increases frequency two hours before games through 1.5 hours after,” with a stop at 7th and Vermont. Neither one keeps a 30-person group together the way a single reserved vehicle does, but they're a fair option for the two or three people in your party who peel off separately.
Once your group is bigger than a couple of cars' worth of people, the math flips. A dozen cars means a dozen prepaid permits chased through the same narrow portal window, a dozen chances at the $100 fine for overstaying a lot, and a dozen separate walks to find each other afterward. A single Lawrence party bus rental replaces all of that with one pickup, one drop, and one meeting point everyone already knows before the game starts.
What Size Bus Fits Your Kansas Memorial Stadium Group?
Lawrenceminibuscompany.com connects you to a range of vehicles through a large network of bus companies serving Lawrence, so a group of 15 doesn't pay for seats meant for 50 and a group of 45 doesn't get squeezed into something too small.
| Vehicle | Typical seats | Best for | Key amenities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinter van | Up to ~14 | Suite groups, small alumni groups | Premium leather, USB charging, tinted privacy windows |
| 18–28 passenger minibus | ~18–28 | Tailgate groups, fraternity/sorority chapters | Powerful A/C, plush reclining seats |
| 30–35 passenger minibus | ~30–35 | Mid-size fan groups from Kansas City or Topeka | Reclining seats, overhead storage, climate control |
| Party bus | ~15–50 | Groups wanting the rolling tailgate experience | Built-in bar, color-changing LED lighting, Bluetooth sound |
| Full-size charter bus | Up to 56 | Large alumni groups, corporate suite outings, marching band or organization travel | Undercarriage bays, onboard restroom, WiFi, power outlets |
For a group hauling tailgate gear — folding tables, coolers, a couple of pop-up tents for Tailgate on the Hill — the undercarriage bays on a full-size charter bus do real work, since nothing has to ride on a lap for the whole drive up from Kansas City. For a group that wants the pregame energy to start the moment the bus pulls away from the curb, a 15- to 50-passenger party bus rental brings the built-in bar and sound system along for the ride. See the full vehicle lineup to compare what's available for your date.
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Charter Bus Rental Prices
Lawrenceminibuscompany.com shows quotes online in under 30 seconds, and the price you see is shaped by a handful of clear factors rather than one flat sticker number: vehicle size, total hours the bus is reserved (including tailgate time and the post-game wait), the date and opponent — a Missouri or BYU weekend prices differently than a Long Island opener — and mileage from your pickup point.
To give you an idea: a 28-person tailgate group booking a 30-passenger minibus for a Missouri game might arrange pickup at 9:00 AM from Overland Park, arrival in Lawrence by 10:15 AM for a full morning at Tailgate on the Hill, and a post-game pickup back at the same meeting spot. An 8-hour rental at that size might run somewhere around $1,700 to $2,100 — roughly $65 to $75 a person. Pricing always shifts with the date, the vehicle, and demand, so the fastest way to get a number for your actual trip is to fill out the quick form or call 785-997-4640 and compare vehicles and prices in about a minute.
Check the Lawrence bus rental prices page for a broader sense of ranges across vehicle types.
Driving to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium from Kansas City and Topeka
Lawrence sits roughly midway between Topeka and the Kansas City metro along I-70, and most out-of-town groups are coming from one of those two directions. Approximate distances and off-peak drive times:
| From… | Approx. distance | Typical drive time (off-peak) |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Kansas City, MO | ~45 miles | 50–60 minutes |
| Overland Park, KS | ~35 miles | 40–50 minutes |
| Topeka, KS | ~25 miles | 30–35 minutes |
| Kansas City International Airport (MCI) | ~55 miles | 60–70 minutes |
Both interstate exits into Lawrence funnel down to a two-lane stretch of Iowa Street or 6th Street before reaching campus, and on a marquee date — the Missouri Border War revival among them — that stretch backs up well before kickoff. The Gateway District construction adds a second layer to that: the project is actively rebuilding “the southwest, west, and north sides of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium” through the 2026 season, per KU's own Gateway District construction announcement, which means the roads and lots immediately around 11th and Mississippi are tighter than they'll be once the project wraps. A group rolling in on a rent a bus to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium trip skips the stop-and-go through that stretch entirely — the group settles in, and getting through the construction-era approach becomes somebody else's problem.
Kansas City International Airport to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
For alumni groups flying in for a big game, Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is the closest major airport, roughly 55 miles and about an hour's drive northeast of the stadium. One bus gathering the whole group at baggage claim beats splitting a dozen people across separate rideshares on arrival day — ask about flight-tracked pickup when you request a quote through the Lawrence airport transportation page.
Tailgating and Gameday Boulevard at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
Two pregame traditions shape the walk in, and both continue for 2026: “Tailgate on the Hill” and “the Gameday Boulevard on 11th Street,” per KU's own 2026 season ticket announcement. Gameday Boulevard runs right along the stadium's south edge, which makes 11th Street itself a useful, visible meet-back landmark to give a group before everyone scatters — far easier to relocate 30 people to a named street than to a lot letter they saw once on a permit.
A charter bus works well for tailgate gear specifically because the undercarriage bays hold folding tables, coolers, and canopy tents without any of it riding on a lap for the drive up from Kansas City or Topeka. Just don't plan on the gear staying with the bus during the game itself unless a staging lot is arranged in advance — without a secured permit, the vehicle needs to relocate to Lot 90 or off-site rather than idling curbside through the whole afternoon.
Bag Policy and What to Leave at Home for David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
KU Athletics runs walk-through metal detectors at every entry point, and the bag rules are strict enough to plan around before your group ever leaves the bus. Per the official prohibited items policy, permitted bags are limited to a one-gallon clear plastic zip bag, a clear plastic bag no larger than roughly 12″ × 6″, or a small clutch. Backpacks aren't permitted, including clear drawstring bags, and coolers, containers, cans, and bottles are turned away at the gate.
If your group is hauling tailgate coolers, that gear stays with the bus or in your staging lot — not on the walk in.
Leaving David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium After the Game
The permit deadline is the detail that catches transportation providers off guard on the way out: signs posted at each lot entrance list the exact time a non-permitted vehicle has to clear out, and missing it means a $100 fine and the risk of a tow, per KU Parking's own policy. With everyone funneling out of the same handful of gates at once and campus streets narrowing fast around the construction zone, that deadline creeps up faster than it looks on a game clock.
A bus sidesteps the scramble. Your group agrees on a pickup window and a landmark — Gameday Boulevard on 11th Street or the Lot 90 walkway both work well, since they're visible and easy to describe to 30 people who've had a good afternoon — and the vehicle is there when the crowd clears, without anyone racing a posted deadline or hunting for a car in a permit lot that already emptied out around them.
2026 Kansas Football Home Schedule at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
The six home dates confirmed for the 2026 season, per KU Athletics' own season ticket announcement:
- Long Island — September 4, 2026 (season opener)
- Missouri — September 12, 2026
- Middle Tennessee State — October 3, 2026
- Baylor — October 24, 2026
- UCF — November 7, 2026
- BYU — November 21, 2026
The Missouri date is the one to plan around earliest. The Border War rivalry draws the heaviest travel from the Kansas City metro of any game on the schedule, which means the prepaid parking portal for lots 11 and 72 sells out fastest and the Lawrence vehicle supply tightens first for that weekend. For any of these six Saturdays, locking in a Lawrence sporting event transportation booking as soon as the schedule is set beats waiting until game week, when the right-size vehicle may already be gone.
Booking Your David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Bus
Lining up group transportation to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium through Lawrenceminibuscompany.com comes down to three steps. First, fill out a quick quote request with your group size, pickup location, game date, and how much tailgate time you want built in. Second, compare the vehicles and prices that come back — a minibus, a party bus, or a full-size charter bus, depending on your headcount.
Third, set your post-game pickup window and landmark in advance, so the vehicle is exactly where your group expects it once the stadium empties out.
Also headed to a Kansas basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse or a race weekend at Kansas Speedway? Those guides cover their own drop-offs and parking rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium?
KU doesn't publish a dedicated bus gate. If your group's lot is permitted through the Williams Fund or arranged through your booking, the bus can pull into that lot and your group walks to gates 2–3 on the west side or 5–6 on the northeast corner. Without a permitted lot, Lot 90 off Naismith Drive is the confirmed fallback — about a 14-minute walk to the gates.
Is there RV or bus parking near the stadium?
Not directly adjacent. KU Parking states plainly that “there is no RV parking near Memorial Stadium” and that RV parking is allowed only in Lot 90. Charter and party buses aren't specifically addressed in that policy, which is why confirming staging with KU Parking Services (785-864-7275) ahead of your date, or through your booking, is worth the call.
How much does it cost to rent a bus to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium?
Pricing depends on vehicle size, total hours reserved, the date and opponent, and mileage from your pickup point. You can compare quotes online in under 30 seconds or call 785-997-4640 for a free quote at no obligation.
What does parking cost at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium?
Most stadium-adjacent lots require a Williams Fund donor permit. Without one, prepaid parking opens the Monday before game day for lots 11, 72, and the Allen Fieldhouse Garage, by credit card only, first-come first-served. The one published rate is accessible parking at $35 per space.
Is there a shuttle or public transit option to the stadium?
Yes. A free KU shuttle runs from three hours before kickoff through one hour after the game ends, picking up outside the Allen Fieldhouse Garage. Lawrence Transit's Route 4 also increases frequency from two hours before kickoff through 1.5 hours after, with a stop at 7th and Vermont downtown.
How far is Lawrence from Kansas City?
Downtown Kansas City, MO is roughly 45 miles from the stadium, about 50 to 60 minutes off-peak via I-70 — longer once traffic builds ahead of a big game like the Missouri matchup.
What's the closest airport to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium?
Kansas City International Airport (MCI), roughly 55 miles and about an hour's drive from the stadium. One bus can gather a flying-in group at baggage claim rather than splitting everyone across rideshares.
What roads change during Gateway District construction?
The project is actively rebuilding the southwest, west, and north sides of the stadium through the 2026 season, so the streets and lots immediately around 11th and Mississippi are tighter than usual. Build in extra time on marquee dates.
What's the bag policy at the stadium?
Only a one-gallon clear zip bag, a small clear plastic bag, or a small clutch is allowed inside. Backpacks, coolers, and outside containers are prohibited and will be turned away at the gate.
Can we tailgate before a Kansas football game?
Yes — “Tailgate on the Hill” and the Gameday Boulevard on 11th Street are both continuing traditions for the 2026 season. A charter bus's undercarriage bays are useful for hauling tailgate gear on the drive in.
How early should our group arrive before kickoff?
KU's free shuttle starts running three hours before kickoff, which is a reasonable target for a group wanting real tailgate time before doors. Build in more cushion for the Missouri game, when Kansas City traffic and the parking portal both move faster than usual.
How far in advance should we book a bus for a game like Missouri or BYU?
As soon as the schedule and your headcount are set. High-demand dates like the Missouri Border War pull the heaviest travel from Kansas City, and the right-size vehicle for that weekend goes first.
Are ADA-accessible buses available?
Yes, through the booking network — just note it in your quote request ahead of your date. At the stadium itself, accessible parking with $35 spaces is available in lots 59, 94, 54, and 72 and the Mississippi Street Garage.
Book Your David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Party Bus Rental Today
Whether it's a Missouri rivalry tailgate, an alumni group flying in for BYU weekend, or a straightforward Saturday drive up from Overland Park, Lawrenceminibuscompany.com makes it easy to compare charter buses, party buses, minibuses, and Sprinter vans for your trip to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Fill out the quick online form or call 785-997-4640 any time to compare vehicles and prices and find what fits your group — no account required, and no obligation to book.
