In regard to Mizzou's Stadium, which is Memorial Stadium and the playing surface is named after former coach Don Faurot, expansion is dearly needed. This expansion is not only to accommodate all the visitors that come to the SEC games but also make the concourses and bathroom bigger to make the game day experience better. Currently Faurot is at 71,003 and that is small compared to many of the SEC schools.
Many suggestions have been made on how to make the stadium bigger and one thing we all know is that they are going to be putting a luxury box just like the press box on the side that faces Providence. However, there have been many ideas bantered about RockMnation and TigerBoard. Some of these ideas range from moving the hill and the Rock "M" close to the playing surface to removing the track and moving the fans closer to the benches.
Many pundits of the Hill say that it is a tradition and we could never move it, but the truth is that only thing that we can't move is the Rock "M" and Coach Pinkel has already said that it will not be removed. This is the best option in my opinion because it eliminates a place for sound to escape the stadium and puts more fans closer which makes the place feel tougher to play. An added bonus is that we wouldn't put those dumb portable bleachers that make our school look po-dunk when they roll them out for the big games. The biggest downfall of this would be the amount of fill needed to bring that up to the rest of the structure. This project would be costly but would pay for itself overtime.
A research project on how soccer teams play with a track and without a track is drastic. The influence that the crowd can make by being close is drastic, so many Tiger fans would like to see the current stands extended down to the grassy hill that butts up to the brick retaining wall. Those against this will tell you that the sight lines would be terrible at those places and all you would see is the numbers from the back of the new matte black helmet. One other problem exists and that is the field is already fairly close to bedrock. Originally the site where the football stadiums sits was a rock quarry years ago and they used the profile of that quarry and the land to create the bowl shape and the hill. Thus, in order to create the proper site lines for fans they would have to blast out the limestone bedrock that is under the playing surface to lower it. Not saying that it can't or wouldn't be done but there are cheaper ways to add seating.
Another option being talked about is adding a second deck to the South endzone. This would essentially add 10,000 seats to the existing structure. Many folks, including myself, love this idea to add seating. They would just need to build around what is already there, but there are some problems. Rumors say that the low water table in that area hamper the stadium from going any higher. The new structure wouldn't be stable and would be dangerous for fans to sit, let alone cheer and stomp.
We know one thing and that is the stadium will be upgraded and seating will be added. With exception of the new luxury boxes we don't know where and how, so we will have to wait. My guess is that these plans of the turf and expansion will be released after we are officially in the SEC. So look around for those because now it will be a dead period for Mizzou Athletics for a while. So, sit back and relax and enjoy the ride.
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