First phase of SEMO stadium rebuild on track for fall completion

A new south side of Southeast Missouri State University's football/soccer stadium is on track to be ready for fall sports.

Brady Barke, vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics at Southeast Missouri State University, said the first phase of reconstructing and expanding Houck Field is progressing well.

"We're kind of in that time crunch space right now where the next eight weeks or so are going to be really busy," he said Friday, June 23. "There are going to be a lot of workers working on top of each other once you really start to get into finishing out the project. ... I think we are on schedule to be able to have that south side ready to go for this fall, but it will be busy all the way up through the end of August."

The structural work to install 4,000 seats, concession areas and restrooms is complete, Barke explained, saying that finishing out those areas is what remains.

"I think everything we expected will be done. I think what people see will be, for the most part, what we have talked about trying to be able to have done," he said. "The end product will be what we all hoped it would be, and I think it is turning out better than what most people maybe anticipated. ... It would have been easy to put in rows of bleachers and call it good, but I think we would have been disappointed with ourselves."

An April drone image shows ongoing construction at Houck Field on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. A new south side grandstand, concession areas and restrooms will be ready for fall sports, according to university officials.Aaron Eisenhower ~ rustmedia

An April drone image shows ongoing construction at Houck Field on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. A new south side grandstand, concession areas and restrooms will be ready for fall sports, according to university officials.Aaron Eisenhower ~ rustmedia

A focus of this portion of the comprehensive project that Barke suggested will continue for the next five to 10 years, has been on improving the fan experience in various ways. He pointed to premium seating areas, expanded handicapped-accessible areas and new views of the field but said one improvement in particular will likely catch fans' attention.

"Fixture counts in the restrooms. I am sure people are going to be really excited about that," he noted. "I think the women's restroom in the old stadium, probably, there were maybe six or eight stalls. I believe there will be 32 in this one, in this initial phase."

Next phase

University officials have envisioned a multipurpose facility that includes the football/soccer stadium, academic facilities and community event spaces.

The City of Cape Girardeau has pledged more than $10 million to the project, and state government has awarded $11 million with the potential for $18 million more to come. The university's foundation has committed $12 million.

"While there has been a lot of funding we have been able to secure and have people partner with us, there is still a fair bit to go," Barke said. "But we have some momentum. There is some excitement in the community from a fundraising standpoint. People are excited about the possibilities of moving from Phase 1 of this south side grandstand project to moving into future phases."

He said the next phase of the project, from an athletic facilities perspective, will focus on the press box facility and game operations areas, while new academic facilities will build on "synergies" with the university's athletic training and sports medicine programs.

"We still have a lot of work to do."