The landscape of the Missouri State University campus in Springfield has changed dramatically since the spring with several new recreation and athletics facilities nearing completion over the summer months. A series of dedications and open house events will correlate with the year’s first events at the facilities, including an MSU Athletics open house event on Sunday, Aug. 24 from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The event will feature free, guided tours of the renovated Robert W. Plaster Stadium, Jim D. Morris Basketball Complex, Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Academic Achievement Center, Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium, and Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
Nearly $22 million worth of new construction and renovations on Missouri State University’s athletics and recreational facilities will begin soon and be completed by fall 2014. On Dec. 4 Missouri State’s Board of Governors Executive Committee awarded a contract to DeWitt and Associates, Inc., to begin the work. The project will be funded by the 2014 Auxiliary Enterprise Revenue Bonds to be issued in February 2014. The revenue stream to repay the bonds will be from the student-approved Bears Experience and Recreation (B.E.A.R.) Fee, central funding, a private gift commitment and auxiliary bond payments that roll off and will be redirected in 2017. Additional private gifts are expected in the future for naming opportunities.