SEC a big score for ‘Heart of America’

Sharing its border with eight other states, Missouri is incontestably the “Heart of America.” Depending on where you are, you may feel a kinship with the northeast and its original baker’s dozen of colonies; or perhaps one peers toward the far expanses of the ranging Old West and its mountains. Now our eyes are fixed toward the southeast as the University of Missouri’s (UM) athletic competition moves into Dixie, the area revisionists prefer to call the “New South.” The significance of Mizzou joining the Southeast Conference (SEC) to the state as a whole is huge.
It has taken more than 100 years to free the “Old South” from the shackles of the War Between the States. With abundant natural resources and a moderate climate, its transformation into the New South came by way of several significant developments.
The combination of cheap land and low labor costs spurred the relocation of many manufacturing enterprises out of the northeast—especially the New England states—starting more than 100 years ago. Low-cost electrical power was ensured once dams of the federally-sponsored Tennessee Valley Authority were put into operation during the 1930s. Additional assistance came several decades later during the Johnson Administration when a slice of the South called “Appalachia” qualified for programs of more federal aid and assistance.
With the exception of Kentucky, labor in every southeastern state is permitted to function under “open” shop rules. Highly controversial and disparagingly referred to as a “right-to-work” law area, the New South has witnessed tremendous economic growth over the decades as tens of thousands of enterprises have either transferred into the area or simply spring up because the economic development was favorable. Huge financial and marketing regions have sprung up around once comparatively small cities including Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte and a cluster of one-time resort communities in Florida, leapfrogging both St. Louis and Kansas City in terms of economic importance.
Finally there’s a person who surely qualifies as a real hero to the New South. Willis Carrier, a refrigeration engineer from New York had the vision to perfect and promote a practical system for air conditioning homes, buildings and even larger expanses. Dixie B.C (“Before Carrier”) used to be an insufferably hot and humid. The New South has been booming for decades; and it looks like Missouri, aside from how its athletic chips may fall, now has a better opportunity to sit at the table of the New South and begin to share in its economic growth.
Nothing will happen overnight, but moving the UM into the SEC will benefit our state on all levels and, sooner rather than later, require significant infrastructure upgrades.

changes on the horizon

In general, enrollment will pace upward even with adjustments for the anticipated slackening among the available pool of eligible students. For the athletic program specifically, there’s firm talk about building a luxury box “tower” on the east side of Faurot Field and expanding seating at the south end of the stadium.
Questions include the future of the Hearnes Arena and the A.L. Gustin golf course.  Are there plans, if any, for a new baseball stadium? Less visible will be upgrades to various training facilities. Likely some aver is a high-rise parking facility near Faurot Field and the Mizzou Arena and maybe a new tailgating area.
UM and its adjuncts will continue to grow, which will impose new burdens on the regional infrastructure. This will require continued cooperation on all levels—streets and highways, parking, mass transit, law enforcement. Rumors of a high rise apartment house have begun to circulate—15 stories?—on downtown’s eastern edge.
Upgrades and additions will spring up in the hospitality and food service sectors. The timing appears to be excellent for the transformation of the Tiger Hotel into a four-star “boutique” hotel, while construction is slated to begin shortly on the DoubleTree Hotel on Broadway.
Columbia Regional Airport more than ever needs its makeover. In an informal comparative assessment of where our airport stands compared to other facilities in the SEC, the need for upgrading is urgent. Fortuitous is the FAA grant to upgrade both the main and the cross-wind runways. Fortuitous are MoDOT’s highway improvements and the new interchange on Highway 63 South, slated for completion next year. Still to be financed and built, planning is already underway to upgrade terminal facilities with cost estimates reduced somewhat over the originally shocking number.
While various rivalries and seasonal habits are changing, the end result of Mizzou’s joining the SEC will yield a string of positives at all levels of Missouri. While others ponder the minutiae of the games and athleticism, I’m looking forward to the gains Missouri may realize by studying the economic development activities of say North Carolina’s Research Triangle. That Missouri hasn’t fully realized its geographic significance should be history. Now’s the time to seize on Missouri’s uniqueness as the “Heart of America” and march forward.