How Stadium Construction will Affect Fans for Mizzou's 2025 Season

The Memorial Stadium project is a critical part of the future trajectory of the Missouri Tigers football program, but the ongoing construction will have noticeable effects on the game-day experience for the 2025 season that fans will need to be aware of.

“This season is going to be different because of this project,” director of athletics Laird Veatch said to reporters Monday. “A small price of progress, but we're going to ask our fans to bear with us as they experience this season just a little bit differently.”

Construction on the project began last fall, and ground was ceremoniously broken inside the stadium following the regular-season finale against Arkansas on Nov. 30. In recent weeks, construction workers have been working 24 hours a day. The project is still on track to be completed ahead of the 2026 football season.

For the upcoming season, though there will be changes to parking and entrances, Veatch is confident it will be a seamless adjustment for fans.

Veatch has already been pleased with the fanbase’s response to other demands of the $250 million project. Despite prices being raised by at least 50% in all sections, season tickets sold out Aug. 4. Additionally, the program is “closing in” on raising $100 million of its $125 million fundraising goal for the stadium project.

Aug 18, 2025; Columbia, MO, USA; A look at construction progress on the north side of Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

The biggest adjustments for fans for the upcoming season will be accounting for extra time to arrive on game days. In addition to limited parking and the removal of certain gates, fans traveling from west of Columbia should be aware of highway construction from mile markers 137 to 144 on I-70 that could cause extra traffic.

To help manage congestion of fans getting into the stadium, gates will be opened two hours before kick off, instead of 90 minutes like they were last season.

Parking lots on game days will be opened at 7 a.m. on game days, except for the Week 1 game against Central Arkansas, where the lots will be opened at 2 p.m. Outside of this difference for the season opener, Veatch says the parking and gate limitations should stay consistent throughout the season, so there aren’t expected to be any new developments fans will need to look out for.

Here’s a look at the updated parking map for the upcoming season.

Parking map for the Missouri Tigers 2025 football season. | Picture via Mizzou Athletics.

Once getting in the stadium, there will be some other changes. Most notably, there will just be a scoreboard on the north end zone, not a video board. However, there will be a new sound system in use.

When it comes to capacity, it will see a decrease for the upcoming season, especially with the general admission tickets on the hill being removed for the season. It will see a slight increase once the project is complete, but the athletic program is still working to calculate the exact capacity number for this season and the future.

In addition to the 3,000 premium seats that will be added, 500 new seats in club sections will add to the capacity, and to the stadium’s utility outside of football games.

“There's also going to be a massive club section inside that space for other special events, probably the largest venue in the city of Columbia,” Veatch said.

With the restrictions and boundaries to the northern part of the stadium, a new fan zone will be opened up to the north of the traffic circle and directly across the street from the stadium. This fan zone will include opportunities for food and drinks, along with televisions to watch other college football games.

As Veatch and the athletic department continue to look for ways to improve the fan experience during, before and after the games, they will attempt to make timeouts more enjoyable.

This will include more music and lighting events, along with more fans on the video board. This all comes with the goal of providing the Tigers more of an advantage while playing at home while keeping spectators engaged.

“So, as part of our home field advantage, we want to keep pushing that forward, another shift we're making that you should see as a noticeable difference going into the year,” Veatch said.

Concession areas in the concourse of the stadium will be immediately affected by the ongoing renovations, given that concourse space will be smaller for the following season. But, once the project, in its entirety, is complete, improvements to concession and concourse areas should be noticeable.

“We're going to be working on other things, with concessions, restrooms,” Veatch said. “So it is really going to truly touch all the fans. I think there's going to be an experience improvement and a pride point for everybody.”

That being said, the university will continue its fan-friendly pricing model for concessions, along with new food options throughout the stadium.

Aug 18, 2025; Columbia, MO, USA; Construction continues on the north side of Faurot Field one week before the start of the 2025-25 football season. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Veatch made it clear that the sacrifices being made for this coming season will be worth the ultimate payoff once everything is finished. The benefits of its completion and ripple effect from it should make a huge impact on the football program, and school as a whole.

One of those ripples will be the appearance of the stadium and its facilities. Veatch believes it can become a landmark of sorts for the campus and school.

“From just a facility, sort of a visibility standpoint, I would see this if you're coming up to our stadium, and you're thinking about the front look of that stadium, that'll be, maybe next to the columns the next, sort of most visible, call it selfie point that you see on our campus,” Veatch said.

In general, the stadium and fan experience will see a significant boost once this is all said and done. It will also help the Tigers stay in touch with other programs nationally who’ve made stadium and facility upgrades similar to theirs.

“It's going to impact the in-stadium experience,” Veatch said. “Going to really impact how we look from outside the stadium.”

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