The UM System Board of Curators selected the architecture firm Populous to design a new Faurot Field south end zone facility project at a meeting on Feb. 9, by a 5-1 vote.
A day after Populous was approved, an anonymous donation of $2 million was made toward the project. This gift marked the project’s ninth seven-figure anonymous donation in the past eight months, a fiscal-year record for Mizzou Athletics.
Former Curator Pamela Henrickson, who had been serving on the board past the expiration of her term until Gov. Eric Greitens nominated a replacement Wednesday, cast the lone dissenting vote against Populous.
The project will include a four-story football team facility in the south end zone of Memorial Stadium and new seating options.
“We are so grateful for the donors who continue to come forward with transformational gifts to help make this a reality for our student-athletes, staff and fans,” Mizzou Athletics Director Jim Sterk said in a statement.
Populous, an architecture firm based out of Kansas City, has designed multiple stadiums throughout the country and world, including McLane Stadium at Baylor University, TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
The $97.6 million facility, scheduled to be completed by 2019, has received over $46 million in donations.
According to a statement released Monday by Mizzou Athletics, the south end zone facility would provide new job opportunities and create more avenues for revenue.
“The new facility will also have an impact on the Central Missouri economy, as a recent study conducted by Plano, Texas-based Convention, Sports and Leisure International projects a $700 million regional impact from the project along with 1,200 new jobs,” the statement read.
Missouri head football coach Barry Odom showed support for the new facility.
“We are very grateful to the Board of Curators for their support of this project, and I’m looking forward to working with the Populous team as we design a facility that will be one of the best in the country,” Odom said in a statement.
_Edited by Kyle LaHucik | klahucik@themaneater.com_
