HOUCK FACE LIFT PLANNED; $5.28 MILLION PROJECT TO GO BEFORE REGENTS

Aging Houck Stadium would get synthetic turf and a new press box as part of a proposed $5.28 million renovation plan.

Southeast Missouri State University's Board of Regents will review a conceptual design for the project when it meets Wednesday.

Dr. Ken Dobbins, the university's executive vice president and soon-to-be president, said the project depends largely on raising private funds. State money also would be sought.

The project could take five years, depending on funding, he said.

Southeast plans to proceed with some parking improvements in the new fiscal year. Dobbins said the university intends to raze two vacant buildings on Broadway that the school's fund-raising foundation owns. The buildings once housed a convenience store-service station and a grocery store. The university plans to tear down the buildings for added parking.

Southeast has $125,000 in its maintenance and repair budget for fiscal 2000 to make structural improvements to the north grandstand and the southside, stadium seating of Houck.

Dobbins said renovating Houck Stadium is more economical than building a new football stadium. He said the stadium on Broadway is worth preserving. "Houck is a beautiful stadium," he said.

When it was dedicated on Oct. 3, 1930, the stadium with its concrete arches was hailed as one of the best athletic facilities in the Midwest. The Southeast Missourian reported that 5,000 people attended the dedication.

But today, the football stadium on Broadway is showing its age.

Dobbins said it is in need of repair. "We need to do something to maintain the structure and at the same time preserve the historic nature of Houck."

Athletic booster Jim Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau played football at the school in the 1970s. He was a defensive back. He later worked as an assistant coach, coaching defensive backs during the 1978, 1979 and 1980 seasons.

"It's a real exciting deal to give Houck Stadium a face lift. That is what it needs," he said.

Limbaugh, who has served as secretary of the booster club, is on a university committee that has proposed various improvements for Houck Stadium.

"There are lots of things on the drawing board. Money is obviously going to limit us to some things," he said.

Plans include replacing the grass field with a new synthetic turf at a cost of $1.45 million. Another $1 million would be spent on parking improvements.

The committee wants to spend $450,000 to put new stone and stucco finishes on the exterior walls of Houck Stadium and nearby Houck Field House, which was used for basketball before the Show Me Center was built. Currently it is used for women's volleyball and gymnastics.

A plaza and new entrance way to the stadium area would be built at the intersection of Henderson and Broadway. A 3,000-square-foot locker room would be built behind the stadium's west end zone. The Houck Field House locker room for visiting teams would be renovated.

The old press box over the southside entrance to Houck Stadium would be removed. A new press box would be built on the north side of the stadium.

Plans call for a two-level press box to accommodate the news media, home and visiting coaches and the university administration. The press box would include suites for the university president and the athletic director. It also would have restrooms.

There had been talk of using Houck Field for women's soccer games, but that no longer is part of the plan.

Limbaugh said a renovated Houck Stadium would add to the university's overall image as well as aid the school in recruiting football players.

The football team has suffered through losing seasons in the 1990s.

"In order for the university to compete, we have to upgrade every part of the program, and part of that includes the physical plant," he said.

Limbaugh said putting in artificial turf raises concerns about added injuries to players. But he said he doesn't believe synthetic turf poses a significant problem as to injuries.

Synthetic turf would eliminate the problems caused by a muddy field. The field could be used for various activities.

Limbaugh said the university's athletic boosters have wanted to see the stadium improved for years.

An improved Houck Stadium could generate more fan enthusiasm, lead to an improved football team and eventually perhaps even a new stadium, he said.

"Down the road, if we create a great tradition and winning program, then maybe we can take a look at a multimillion-dollar, brand-new stadium on the north end of the campus," he said.