Mizzou Athletics announces $10 million donation for new indoor facility

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Athletics announced it has received a $10 million dollar donation from an anonymous donor to help build a new indoor football practice facility.

“The magnitude, impact and timing of this gift is significant as we attempt to advance the indoor football practice facility project as quickly as possible,” athletic director Jim Sterk said in a release. “As the SEC’s furthest-most Northern school, it is critical that our program have a full length indoor practice facility to utilize year-round, and this gift, coupled with the Board of Curators’ action earlier this month, gives this project great momentum."

The UM Board of Curators recently voted to move forward with the new indoor facility earlier this month. The board will meet again no later than Jan. 30 to discuss all of the project plans.

Mizzou said it's still working on selecting a site to build the new facility. The athletic department said it is using HOK for its architecture plans.

“Similar to the South End Zone Facility, this will be another project that will benefit other Mizzou teams when it is completed,” Sterk said in a release. “By building a dedicated indoor facility for the football program, we will be able to turn the Devine Pavilion over to our softball, baseball and women’s soccer teams to utilize on a year-around basis.”

Devine Pavilion is currently the only indoor practice for MU athletic programs. Sterk said the facility poses many challenges to student-athletes and coaches. It was built in 1998, and the indoor field is only 70 yards. MU Athletics also said a new indoor football facility would free up Devine Pavilion for other sports to use all year - like baseball, softball and soccer.