April 15, 2005
Columbia, Mo. - It's hard to determine the impact that Mizzou Arena has had on our men's and women's basketball programs at Missouri. We certainly believe, and are proud to tout, that it is the finest "on-campus" arena in the country. Time will determine its influence on recruiting, player development and other areas related to the sport of basketball.
What we can accurately define is the economic impact it has already had on the city of Columbia! The numbers are staggering! Country music superstar Kenny Chesney played to a sold-out house of more than 12,000 fans on April 2nd. Ticket sales, concessions and merchandise sales resulted in a total gross revenue of around $951,000. To put that into perspective, the highest grossing show ever held at the Hearnes Center was Alabama, which brought in around $350,000 a few years ago. From an attendance standpoint, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and MC Hammer shared the Hearnes record of around 10,500 fans. The largest show ever held at University of Missouri was the 1994 appearance at Faurot Field by the Rolling Stones, when 40,000 fans were in attendance, allowing the show to gross $1.7 million.
So what was the economic impact on Columbia from our latest show? According to the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, that figure can be determined by taking the gross revenue, $951,000 and multiplying that by two, to give you an economic impact of $1.9 million! Since Mizzou Arena opened, the venue has generated more than $2.5 million in revenues, which translates to a economic impact of $5 million dollars to Columbia and mid-Missouri.
With appearances from the likes of Kenny Chesney, Sting, Cher, Allison Krause/ Union Station and Tony Bennett, it easy to see what the music industry thinks of Mizzou Arena. Our beautiful facility is becoming a target destination for promoters. A state-of-the-art venue like Mizzou Arena makes for a great environment for entertainers.
Practically speaking, Mizzou Arena can handle the massive productions of today's entertainer, whereas the Hearnes Center could not. Ten semi-trailers supported the production of the Cher concert, while Kenny Chesney's Tour was accompanied by 17 semi-trailers and 10 tour buses, not to mention a set up crew of more than 100 people. The simple fact is that Hearnes just could not handle that much demand, and cultural events such as these great concerts would not have happened in Columbia without the new arena.
It will be our commitment in the future to pursue very visible headline acts, with hopes of bringing great entertainment options to the consumer and important economic dollars to our community.
From an athletic standpoint, I'm very pleased with the start to our spring sports season at Mizzou. Our softball team, baseball and women's golf teams are all nationally ranked. Our women's tennis team, men's golf and our track and field programs are also doing very well.
We have a couple of things on the horizon that may interest you. Our annual spring Tiger Caravans will visit St. Joseph, Mo. on April 19th, Springfield, Mo. on April 20th, and Mendon, Mo. on April 21st. My schedule will not allow me to make any of these caravan stops this year. However, I know you will enjoy talking about Mizzou sports with members of our coaching staff and others for our department. For more information on these events, please visit our webpage at www.mutigers.com.
As always, I'd like to thank-you for taking the time to read this column. If you have any questions about these topics, or anything else regarding the world of collegiate athletics, please feel free to contact me at aldenm@missouri.edu, or by calling me at 573-882-2055.