Job posting
Premium Attendant at University of Kansas Athletics | Lawrence
Oak View Group is hiring a part-time Premium Attendant for University of Kansas Athletics events in Lawrence, paying $12-$15 per hour plus tip eligibility.
Allen Fieldhouse is a 16,300-seat basketball arena, and that number is the most useful thing on this page if you are looking for work there. It is roughly a third of the size of the football stadium up the hill, so event crews are smaller and there are fewer positions per date. What it has instead is frequency: seventeen or more home dates between November and March, against six or seven football Saturdays in the autumn. For steady winter shifts in Lawrence, the arena is the better calendar.
This page covers who hires after the 2024 operator change, how arena work differs from stadium work, Kansas pay context, and the venue’s history — which is worth knowing, because people here care about it.
Who employs you at Allen Fieldhouse
Oak View Group took over food and beverage operations for Kansas Athletics in 2024, replacing Sodexo Live!. The full agreement is covered here, and its scope is the useful detail: OVG’s contract spans Allen Fieldhouse, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, and the wider Gateway District. One application can lead to work at several venues.
| Work | Employer | Application path |
|---|---|---|
| Concessions, premium hospitality, suite catering | Oak View Group | OVG Hospitality careers portal |
| Guest services, ushers, ticket takers | Kansas Athletics | KU Athletics / university jobs site |
| Facilities and operations | University of Kansas | KU careers site |
| Event security | KU Public Safety and contracted vendors | Vendor or university application |
Arena work is not stadium work
If your experience is at football venues, the differences here are practical ones:
- Smaller crews, tighter teams. A 16,300-seat arena runs a fraction of the headcount of an NFL building. You will be known by name, and there is less room to disappear into a large roster.
- More dates, less scale. Seventeen-plus home basketball dates over five months produces a more regular rhythm than a compressed autumn football season.
- Indoor and weather-proof. Winter in Kansas is real, but the work is not exposed. Your commute is the weather problem, not your shift.
- Shorter events. A basketball game is roughly two hours against a football game’s three-plus, so shifts are shorter — which cuts both ways depending on whether you want hours or convenience.
- Concentrated demand. With fewer concourse stands than a stadium, per-stand volume during a sold-out conference game is high. Allen Fieldhouse routinely sells out.
Pay context in Lawrence
Kansas follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. There is no state floor pushing rates upward, which is the honest context for anyone comparing this market to a coastal one: posted rates in Lawrence sit well below what the same role pays in Baltimore, Atlanta, or the Bay Area.
In practice operators pay above the federal floor, because in a college town of Lawrence’s size they compete for the same student and community labor as every restaurant on Massachusetts Street. But do check the posted rate before you commit availability. Roles here include:
| Role | What it involves | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Concessions attendant | Concourse stand service and restocking | Highest headcount; standard entry point |
| Cashier | Point of sale on game nights | Minimal experience required |
| Premium attendant | Club and premium-level service | Covers multiple Kansas Athletics venues |
| Suite catering | Service in the arena’s premium spaces | Service experience expected |
| Line cook / prep | Kitchen production | Fewer positions than at a stadium |
| Stocking and warehouse | Pre-event product movement | Early call times |
The season, and when to apply
- September–October — the hiring window for basketball season. Apply here. The intake closes before the November home opener, and Allen Fieldhouse is a sought-after place to work in Lawrence, so late applicants wait for attrition.
- November–March — the season proper: seventeen or more home dates, including Big 12 Conference games.
- March — postseason. The arena has hosted NCAA Tournament first- and second-round sessions on several occasions, which brings a short, intense staffing surge.
- Spring and summer — quiet, with occasional special events and concerts.
- August — overlaps with football hiring for the stadium; applying to OVG in this window can put you in front of both calendars.
Because OVG holds the whole Kansas Athletics account, availability across both basketball and football makes you considerably more useful than availability for one.
Getting to work
- The arena is at 1651 Naismith Drive on the KU campus in Lawrence.
- Campus parking is restricted on event nights and staff lots are assigned separately from fan parking — confirm with your employer rather than following public event signage.
- Lawrence Transit and the KU on Wheels campus bus system serve the area, though evening service after a late tip-off is limited. Plan the trip home before your first shift.
- Winter conditions matter more for the commute than the shift. February home games in a Kansas ice storm are the reason operators value people who reliably show up.
Venue background
Allen Fieldhouse opened on March 1, 1955, named for Forrest “Phog” Allen, who coached Kansas basketball for 39 years and won 590 games at the school. It sits on the campus where Dr. James Naismith — the inventor of the sport — coached the Jayhawks from 1898 to 1907. It is consistently described as one of the loudest and most difficult arenas to play in in college basketball, and Kansas holds one of the strongest home records in the sport’s history there.
Fast facts
- Location: Lawrence, Kansas (1651 Naismith Dr)
- Team: Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball (NCAA, Big 12)
- Capacity: 16,300
- Opened: March 1, 1955
- Named for: Coach Forrest “Phog” Allen
- Hospitality operator: Oak View Group, from 2024, replacing Sodexo Live!
Things worth knowing before an interview
- The original rules of basketball, written by Naismith, are displayed in the DeBruce Center adjoining the fieldhouse.
- The building has been continuously upgraded without losing its historic character — a point of institutional pride, and one that shapes how renovation and service changes get made.
- OVG’s arrival brought upgraded food and beverage, local restaurant partnerships, faster concession ordering technology, and expanded premium hospitality.
- The arena sits within walking distance of the Gateway District redevelopment around the football stadium, which is where the account’s growth is concentrated.
Major events hosted
- Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball home games since 1955
- Big 12 Conference basketball
- NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, on multiple occasions
- Special events and concerts
Related pages
- Operator profile: Oak View Group
- Previous operator: Sodexo Live!
- Sister venue: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
- Live posting: Kansas Athletics Premium Attendant
- The operator change: Kansas selects Oak View Group