I take a few days off after the Sandusky trial ended to let life get back to normal in town here and I got behind on work for the site. Sorry about that, but I am back and will get caught up by tomorrow night hopefully.

A rendering of what the renovated and expanded Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field will look like at Missouri

A rendering of what the renovated and expanded Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field will look like at Missouri

Full photo gallery.

First up, lets look at the major announcement by Missouri yesterday. The school has secured a $30 million donation, and second largest in school history. This donation is the backbone of an aggressive, $200 million master plan for the schools athletic facilities.

In relation to football, here are the specific plans.

To be completed by fall 2013:

• West Side press box renovation
• North concourse
• Miscellaneous structural repairs throughout stadium

More specifically, the press box renovation will consist of moving the existing press functions up to level 6 and enclosing it. Missouri also plans to upgrade level 5 to include new premium seating options and update the amenities in the existing premium spaces.

The north concourse renovation is have crews move the Rock M and berm closer to the North end zone to provide improved game-day experience for fans, while expanding north concourse for improved spacing.

This sounds like a lot of work to get done in one year, but should help accommodate more media and fan movement.

To be completed for the 2015 season:

• East Side expansion

This east side expansion is just that, a seating expansion. The school plans to add an upper bowl with over 5,000 general admission seats and a club level with over 1,000 club seats. The plans will also include associated amenities including restrooms, concessions, back-of-house kitchen and club lounges. Additionally, circulation space will be added on the main concourse.

The additional seating is the part that everyone will talk about, but the widening of the concourses during both the north concourse and east side expansions is going to be the most helpful. The fit more people into the stadium, you have to create a way for them to get to/from their seats, concession stands and restrooms. A very smart move by the school.

To me, one of the most frustrating things is when a school expands a stadium, but doesn’t plan for how the increased number of people will affect amenities usage, parking and pedestrian flow.

Not mentioned above is an indoor football practice facility that is part of the master plan. However, there is no anticipated completion date for this building.

Here is a 10-minute video explaining the renovation plans:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:07 — 71.4MB) | Embed

[via @MUTigersdotcom]