ROLLA, Mo. — The Rock M and the grassy hill survived.
Memorial Stadium, the home of Missouri football, is officially getting an upgrade, as the UM System Board of Curators unanimously approved a resolution for an estimated $250 million project to upgrade the north concourse. The resolution was passed Thursday on the Missouri S&T campus as part of a regularly scheduled meeting.
Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz, interim AD Marcy Girton, UM System President Mun Choi, Board of Curator Bob Blitz and Chair Robin Wenneker spoke at a press conference following the unveiling of the project renderings.
The project, led by architecture firm DLR Group, will connect the east and west stands overlooking Faurot Field, with an additional 2,000 premium seats tabbed.
There will be field-level seating added beneath the stadium's novel Rock M and grassy seating area, which will be able to hold 300 people, per a news release. The area seemingly is akin to the type found in the stadium's south end zone, per renderings.
There also will be premium seating added above the hill, which will make up the majority of the 160,500 square feet of the construction project.
The capacity of Memorial Stadium is expected to rise to about 65,000, up from the 62,261 that the stadium currently holds.
Fourteen field-level open-air suites and 51 new suites are expected as part of the renovation. That includes 28 cabanas in covered spaces.
Between the field-level seating and the additional bleacher premium seating, the novel rock M that has become a signature of Memorial Stadium, and the grassy hill surrounding it, will be kept.
The project is expected to be completed by October 2026, which is the 100th anniversary of the first game played at Memorial Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: What will Missouri football's stadium upgrade look like? First look
