Mizzou provides additional details for south end zone project

Memorial Stadium’s south end zone renovation will be a larger project than initially projected, according to Mizzou Athletics. The Tigers will add suites and a private club for fans along with 5,000 seats close to the field. Inside the new facility, Mizzou Football will have a new weight room, locker room, team meeting room with virtual reality capabilities and a new training room with hydrotherapy amenities.

Mizzou athletics projects the renovation costs can be anywhere between $90 to $100 million, up from the initial projection of $75 million. Mizzou has received a number of record-setting donations and, at last check, raised more than $40 million as of December 16. Sterk said it hopes to raise at least $50 million in total donations, with the difference getting covered by revenue bonds.

Mizzou Athletic Director Jim Sterk said construction workers will demolish the existing south end zone and will build a brand new structure.

“Our preliminary study suggested that if we go this route, we will have more premium seating opportunities, and it will give us the ability to provide more space for our football program and its daily operations,” Sterk said in a statement. “We’ve said all along that we are doing this with the intent of making it one of the best facilities in the nation, and that’s exactly what we’re planning.”

Mizzou’s current locker room is in the south end zone. Should the Tigers take down the existing structure, Missouri Football may have to dress across the street in the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex (MATC) for a game day in the coming seasons. With the south end zone providing a centralized hub for the MU football team, it will free up space in the MATC for other sports.

Mizzou athletics projects the renovation costs can be anywhere between $90 to $100 million, up from the intiial projection of $75 million.

Sterk said the school did not have a projection on seating capacity once the project is complete. But he said the plans could have 20 to 24 new suits with a field-level club. He added the school hopes to complete the project in time for the 2019 season, but cautioned that timeline could change.

According to Mizzou Athletics, the project could have a $700 million economic impact. the Convention, Sports and Lesisure consulting firm says there will be 1,200 new jobs and $44 million in new salaries associated with the south end zone renovations.

This will be the first major renovation to Memorial Stadium since the athletic department renovated the east side of the stadium in 2014.