‘100% the right thing’: Missouri Curators green-light MU’s $250M stadium project

Missouri’s Memorial Stadium Improvements Project took another step toward reality Thursday when the university system’s Board of Curators stamped formal approval on a $250 million renovation during a meeting on the UMKC campus.

The project is set to be completed in time for the MU Tigers’ 2026 football opener.

The north side of Memorial Stadium will be restructured to feature field-level open-air suites, new club sections, a 300-person “Rock M Club” — built directly under the Rock M Hill — and a 500-person Mezzanine Club, among other improvements designed by DLR Group of Kansas City.

Mizzou will officially break ground on the project — first announced in April — on Nov. 30, when the Tigers meet Arkansas at home.

“You’ll actually see some activity on site — prep work, getting ready,” Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch said.

Fundraising continues for the project. Veatch said the $250 million price tag will be split between state and private sources, with about half of the private income raised.

The university in Columbia is looking to take advantage of momentum created by coach Eli Drinkwitz’s football team, which is currently ranked sixth in The Associated Press Top 25 poll entering Saturday’s game against No. 24 Boston College.

The Tigers are coming off an 11-2 season capped by a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State. They finished No. 8 in the major polls last season.

The project will be the second major improvement to Memorial Stadium in the past decade. In 2019, work was completed on $99 million south end zone renovation.

When this improvement is finished — scheduled to open in time for the structure’s 100th anniversary — Memorial Stadium will seat 65,000. Veatch said an upgraded facility will allow Missouri to remain competitive, as it, like all major-conference programs, faces such financial challenges as name, image and likeness (NIL) and the prospect of revenue sharing for athletes.

“It is really important that we invest not only because of the fan experience and for the experience of the players on the field, but this will solidify our long-term ability to generate the revenue we need to continue to compete,” Veatch said.

“It sends a huge message to the football nation that Mizzou is serious, that we are committed to winning and we are committed to doing it right now, particularly in the midst of all the change and transition we’re seeing in college athletes. Long term, it’s 100 percent the right thing.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the project captures Missouri’s ambition in a conference that has produced 13 of the last 18 national champions in football.

“We’re 16 strong universities in the strongest athletic conference in the nation,” Sankey said. “I think Missouri fits perfectly in that.”