Update: The curators unanimously approved the project. Game on.
UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED ✔️ #ShowMe The $98 Million Future of #Mizzou Footballhttps://t.co/xbHExudYGc#MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/RVUTZ5ziO9
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) August 25, 2017
Curator Maurice Graham: "This is a game-changer for the university and the Tigers."
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) August 25, 2017
Sterk: During 2018 construction of south end zone complex Memorial Stadium capacity will be around 61,000 for next season. #Mizzou
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) August 25, 2017
#FormerADTweetShade pic.twitter.com/VkjR4g5XNi
— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) August 25, 2017
— Zach (@ZWal93) August 25, 2017
Missouri curators are meeting via “telepresence” today at 10:30 am CT. If I’m mentioning this on Rock M Nation, that means there must be something sports-related on the docket.
The UM Board of Curators will hold a special session Friday to vote on final approval for expansion of the south endzone of Memorial Stadium.
The proposed design is a three-story building that will replace 10,800 general admission seats with 16 suites, 1,500 premium seats and 1,300 outdoor general admission seats. Inside, the building will include a new locker room, weight room, training facility, coaching offices, meeting rooms and recruiting reception areas.
The 191,000 square-foot project budget is set at $98 million, a figure which will have to be approved Friday. Of that, a minimum of $40 million is slated to come from private gift pledges, $800,000 will come from Campus Infrastructure Funds and a maximum of $57.2 million will come from long-term debt financing.
The Post-Dispatch shared the official proposal.
"The proposed project will build a new three-story building and grandstands at the south end of Memorial Stadium comprising approximately 191,059 gross square feet (GSF) of construction with enclosed space of approximately 141,065 GSF. The new seating bowl will remove 10,800 general admission seats and replace with sixteen suites and associated support spaces, approximately 1,500 premium seats and 1,300 new outdoor general admission seats, resulting in increased net revenues associated with the new seating and premium amenities. The design of the football program spaces include a new team locker room (both training and game day use), football training facility, weight room, coaching offices and team meeting rooms, public and recruiting reception areas, and equipment storage. New kitchen and dining space is planned to serve both premium seating venues and team dining functions.
Capacity is expected to get lopped off from 71K to 65K, but ... well, while capacity will be a discussion topic again in the future, coming off of a year in which attendance plummeted, it’s not as much of a topic at the moment.
The drawings for this thing are pretty spectacular.
NEWS | UM Board of Curators to vote on #Mizzou's $98M South Endzone Expansion Project Fridayhttps://t.co/fP99eKJ8cn#MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/I8ZIYH2Mwc
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) August 23, 2017
I was lucky enough to visit OSU’s end zone facilities a few weeks ago, and after doing that, my opinion on this Mizzou project went from “Yeah, it would be pretty cool” to “MUST HAVE THIS.” The combination of opulence and convenience would be staggering, and it would be a great weapon for Mizzou to have in the arsenal. I’m assuming I know how the curators will vote.
More football links:
- There are still quite a few freshmen trying to crack the two-deep.
- "From where we finished [last season], we're lightyears ahead," says Mizzou offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. I’m holding you to that, Coach.
- Walk-on running back (and spring game star) Dawson Downing’s still out there fighting for playing time.
Eight days to kickoff. EIGHT DAYS TO KICKOFF.
More Links:
- The KC Star’s Vahe Gregorian wrote about Justin Britt standing up for his Seattle Seahawks teammate Michael Bennett.
- Mizzou Hoops is trying to jump in and get an official visit from four-star 2018 Ohio shooting guard Dwayne Cohill.
- Mizzou Soccer is off to a lovely 2-0 start, but if the Tigers are 4-0 after this weekend, that’ll be proof they’re awfully good: they play at Oregon State tonight, then play at No. 14 Nebraska on Sunday. And when they host defending national champion USC on September 1, IT’S FLYOVER TIME.