COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Department of Athletics has hired Kansas City-based architecture firm Populous to assist it in developing a facilities master plan to present to the University of Missouri Board of Curators for its approval to proceed with an unprecedented transformation of the Mizzou Sports Park.
In July 2023, Mizzou Athletics partnered with Populous to configure a comprehensive facilities master plan that would impact every Mizzou sports program and feature sequential construction projects to address current facility needs. Mizzou Athletics will present the plan, as well as Populous’ conceptual renderings, to the Board at its Nov. 16 meeting at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Guided by a comprehensive assessment of Mizzou’s current facilities, the roadmap includes the construction of several new competition venues and practice facilities and explores a reimagination of the north concourse of Memorial Stadium.
In collaboration with the Board and university leadership, Mizzou Athletics engaged with global professional services firm Huron to assess current facilities and identify areas in which Mizzou could invest at greater levels to achieve intercollegiate athletics excellence that would strategically impact the university, region and state.
To complement Huron’s analysis, Mizzou Athletics also conducted a methodical needs assessment, collecting input from key stakeholders, including its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, coaches, staff, faculty and Mizzou Fan Council while utilizing analytics and other studies on similar facility projects.
“While the landscape of collegiate athletics rapidly evolves, the Board is committed to making investments to ensure that we are supporting University leaders and Mizzou Athletics so we can provide the resources and facilities that best serve our student-athletes,” UM Board of Curators Chair Michael Williams said. “We look forward to seeing the ‘roadmap’ come to life in the years ahead and the impact our sports programs will continue to have on the University, the region, and the State of Missouri as we ascend toward the top of collegiate athletics.”
“As Mizzou Athletics continues to gain momentum under the leadership of Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois and coaches Eli Drinkwitz and Dennis Gates, major investments in University of Missouri Football and Basketball are critical to reaching our goal of winning championships across all sports,” UM Curator Jeff Layman said. “We have tremendous alignment between the Board of Curators, the University administration and Mizzou Athletics that will help us achieve this vision.”
“There is no doubt our intercollegiate athletics programs uniquely impact the University by enhancing the experience of our Mizzou student body and increasing the engagement of our 357,000 alumni throughout the country and the entire state of Missouri,” University of Missouri President Mun Choi said. “With the Board’s committed support and Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois’s leadership and strategic vision, we will make the investments necessary for Mizzou to become a national leader in intercollegiate sports.”
“I want to thank the Board and President Choi for their incredible support and belief in Mizzou Athletics and in our envisioning of a facilities master plan,” said Reed-Francois. “As part of our Mizzou Athletics strategic plan that we shared with the Board, we sought a facilities master plan that would transform the Sports Park. We know that many of our athletics programs have facility needs, and through this collaboration and our facility viability assessments, we have developed a thoughtful plan that will benefit our current and future student-athletes. We greatly appreciate our colleagues at Huron for identifying our opportunities and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Populous as we move forward with the next steps pending Board approval.”
In July 2023, Mizzou Athletics partnered with Populous to configure a comprehensive facilities master plan that would impact every Mizzou sports program and feature sequential construction projects to address current facility needs. Mizzou Athletics will present the plan, as well as Populous’ conceptual renderings, to the Board at its Nov. 16 meeting at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Guided by a comprehensive assessment of Mizzou’s current facilities, the roadmap includes the construction of several new competition venues and practice facilities and explores a reimagination of the north concourse of Memorial Stadium.
In collaboration with the Board and university leadership, Mizzou Athletics engaged with global professional services firm Huron to assess current facilities and identify areas in which Mizzou could invest at greater levels to achieve intercollegiate athletics excellence that would strategically impact the university, region and state.
To complement Huron’s analysis, Mizzou Athletics also conducted a methodical needs assessment, collecting input from key stakeholders, including its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, coaches, staff, faculty and Mizzou Fan Council while utilizing analytics and other studies on similar facility projects.
“While the landscape of collegiate athletics rapidly evolves, the Board is committed to making investments to ensure that we are supporting University leaders and Mizzou Athletics so we can provide the resources and facilities that best serve our student-athletes,” UM Board of Curators Chair Michael Williams said. “We look forward to seeing the ‘roadmap’ come to life in the years ahead and the impact our sports programs will continue to have on the University, the region, and the State of Missouri as we ascend toward the top of collegiate athletics.”
“As Mizzou Athletics continues to gain momentum under the leadership of Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois and coaches Eli Drinkwitz and Dennis Gates, major investments in University of Missouri Football and Basketball are critical to reaching our goal of winning championships across all sports,” UM Curator Jeff Layman said. “We have tremendous alignment between the Board of Curators, the University administration and Mizzou Athletics that will help us achieve this vision.”
“There is no doubt our intercollegiate athletics programs uniquely impact the University by enhancing the experience of our Mizzou student body and increasing the engagement of our 357,000 alumni throughout the country and the entire state of Missouri,” University of Missouri President Mun Choi said. “With the Board’s committed support and Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois’s leadership and strategic vision, we will make the investments necessary for Mizzou to become a national leader in intercollegiate sports.”
“I want to thank the Board and President Choi for their incredible support and belief in Mizzou Athletics and in our envisioning of a facilities master plan,” said Reed-Francois. “As part of our Mizzou Athletics strategic plan that we shared with the Board, we sought a facilities master plan that would transform the Sports Park. We know that many of our athletics programs have facility needs, and through this collaboration and our facility viability assessments, we have developed a thoughtful plan that will benefit our current and future student-athletes. We greatly appreciate our colleagues at Huron for identifying our opportunities and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Populous as we move forward with the next steps pending Board approval.”
