Although the outcome never was in doubt, the 25th ranked Missouri Tigers celebrated the official opening of the $250 million north end zone project on Thursday with a season-opening 54-14 thumping of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The 244,000-squre-foot Memorial Stadium Centennial Project increases stadium capacity to just more than 63,600 with more than 4,300 new seats and a variety of other amenities and attractions that were featured during a media tour and press conference on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Thursday’s season opener, quarterback Austin Simmons dazzled in his Missouri debut, throwing for 252 yards and four touchdowns in less than two quarters of play. Simmons was 17 of 19 through the air before giving way to Mizzou backup Matt Zoellers late in the first half. The Tigers amassed 33 first downs in outgaining Arkansas-Pine Bluff 562-198.
The scope of work for the north end zone, or NEZ as construction documents call it, included a redesigned north entry plaza and north gate that offer expanded pregame areas, a team store, and ticketing booths. Fourteen new field suites connect the new Rock M Club – an indoor venue designed to host 300 guests – complemented by a 150-person outdoor patio. The design provides two levels of new suites, offering indoor/outdoor experiences with access to premium amenities. A rooftop terrace introduced 20 outdoor heated suites, known as “Tiger Dens,” providing a unique vantage point of the campus.
One of the spaces that will be in use year-round is a new multi-purpose event space, accommodating over 500 guests, extending the stadium’s impact beyond game days, providing year-round hosting opportunities for the university and its community.
One of the intangible benefits of the new space, according to Athletic Director Laird Veatch, is the amplification of the home field advantage and game day experience as the result of an expanded video board and updated audiovisual systems.
Veatch emphasized the fan and game day experience as the central focus of the NEZ project, citing Mizzou’s participation in the Southeastern Conference as the driving factor. In order to compete with other SEC schools – not just for athletes and fans, but also for NIL money and donations – Veatch said it’s important to make the kind of stadium and facility improvements that the NEZ brings to the overall athletics program.
In some ways, the NEZ media tour was a study in contrasts. While the Memorial Stadium Centennial Project honors the stadium’s 100th anniversary, noting in a handout that “the project preserves and emboldens the traditions that have defined Memorial Stadium since 1926,” the project completion comes just six months after the athletics department announced that it was seeking a partner for naming rights to the stadium. Veatch said the conversation about preserving tradition was a lengthy consideration in the naming rights decision, which came down to one factor: revenue.
The media tour was also an opportunity to highlight the stadium’s new concessionaire, Sodexo Live!, and that firm’s partnership with Upper Crust Food Service, the Columbia-born company owned by Mizzou alumnus Adam Guy. Upper Crust now employs 2,500 chefs across the country for Greek houses, K-12 schools, corporate cafeterias, and a wide range of other food service offerings.
Guy explained that the exclusive Rock M Club and other premium suites will have customized menus for each game.
“What will be distinctively different is that all premium spaces will have their own look and feel, and the food options will rotate. Not everyone will have the same thing,” he said. “They’ll be able to experience different things throughout the season.”
For those who simply prefer traditional game day fare, there’s good news. Cheeseburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst, nachos, and other “game day staples” will be available in the premium spots as well as throughout the stadium. Guy said every concession stand was renovated, adding that, “Every fan who comes through here is going to see an elevated experience this year. We’re giving everybody something they can be excited about.”
Guy echoed Veatch’s “enhanced fan experience” sentiment again by noting that even advanced food options are necessary to compete with other SEC stadiums and venues – regardless of the game score.
“Our goal with hospitality is that people can come to a game at Mizzou and they can have a great day regardless of the outcome on the field,” he said. “Being from Columbia, and being a Mizzou fan, we want a good outcome on the field, but the fact that they can come and enjoy great food and beverages, and great company, great hospitality … that’s part of what is going to bring people here regardless of what the score is.”
Guy does not discount the impact that all of those factors may actually play a role in affecting the outcomes on the field.
“As you build a tradition where the stands are full, that brings you additional revenue, allows you to participate better in today’s NIL environment to attract the players and coaches that will bring MU to a higher level. I think it all really does weave together.”
WRAPPING UP …
Thursday’s home opener allowed the Tigers to get a look at all units up and down the depth chart. It was 40-0 by halftime on the hottest opening night in 10 years. And while the Tigers cruised the rest of the way with their backups and third-teamers, there were enough miscues in all facets that Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz had ample thoughts about improvements.
“There’s a lot of things we’re going to look back on and say, ‘We have to get this stuff fixed in a hurry,’” he told reporters after the game.
The Tigers figure to get a much tougher test next week, when they head across the border to play bitter rival Kansas in the latest edition of the Border War. The programs once played annually as members of the Big 12, but it had been 14 years since their last game when the Tigers beat the Jayhawks last season in Columbia.
