Mandatory Credit: Gould Evans

Allen Fieldhouse has always been considered one of, if not the top college basketball arena in the country. Several years ago, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics was opened to include seemingly endless historical artifacts related to KU sports (mostly basketball), and a fully upgraded portion of “the old barn,” which has made going to a game in Lawrence partially about seeing a museum.

Now, the university has complete the newly constructed, 32,000 square foot DeBruce Center, attached to the northeast portion of the Fieldhouse and will serve as the home of James Naismith’s original rules of the game, which was purchased at auction two years ago by David and Suzanne Booth.

The building will house the rules in a special section for fans to see, and is connected directly to the concourses of Allen Fieldhouse.

Inside, the DeBruce Center features the Courtside Cafe, which is a 200 seat restaurant. There is a private event space which offers catering, and will have a gift shop geared towards Kansas Basketball and James Naismith’s original rules of the game.

Outside, a newly erected statue of James Naismith holding a peach basket in a seated position now joins the Forrest “Phog” Allen statue in front of the Fieldhouse on the east side of the building.

The historical significance of Kansas Basketball directly relates to the creation of the game by Naismith, who came to Lawrence after developing the idea of basketball in Massachusetts. Phog Allen became the first coach at Kansas, and under him, fellow basketball greats Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp, who coached North Carolina and Kentucky respectively.

Allen recruited Wilt Chamberlain to Kansas. and both Allen and Naismith are legends in the sporting world.

With a new season of Kansas Basketball kicking off in the fall, the DeBruce Center is likely to draw a large crowd prior to and during each home game, as fans want to get a closer look at the rules of the game written by Naismith.

For tickets to each and every home game during the 2016-17 season, visit Tickets For Less and choose from a variety of seating options inside Allen Fieldhouse. With the Booth Family Hall of Athletics and the newly constructed DeBruce Center, the experience at a Kansas home game is unlike anything else in basketball. Don’t miss out on your chance to see the Jayhawks take the floor to try for another National Championship. Rock Chalk!

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