By: Brandon Weiss, MUTigers.com Correspondent
"Let's open the East side of the Zou. Smile. Cut."
With that, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, Director of Athletics Mike Alden and Executive Associate Athletic Director Tim Hickman cut the gold ribbon, officially opening the new and improved East Side of Memorial Stadium.
The new first-class addition to the home of Mizzou football, an ambitious project that adds more than 4,100 seats in addition to 1,200 premium seats and cost between $40 million and $50 million, was designed and built by Kansas City firms Populous and J.E. Dunn Construction.
Hundreds of Tiger fans came to Memorial Stadium Tuesday evening hoping to get a look at the new club area located right below the new Tiger Deck. The East Side opening was just the latest in renovations around Mizzou's athletics facilities, the fourth within the last calendar year as it joined new facilities for golf, women's tennis and baseball.
"We're ecstatic," Hickman said of the newest part of Missouri's football stadium. "I think our fan base is going to love it when they see it. `The Tiger Deck,' the upper deck, gives great views of not only the field and the stadium, but southern Columbia, Mo. I can't wait to get up there in the fall and see the trees and fall colors down there."
What Alden declared a "terrific facility" impressed Loftin so much, that the Mizzou chancellor's suite was moved to the East side of the stadium. The chancellor wasn't the only person eager to sit on the newly-built portion of Memorial Stadium, as Alden said that ticket sales are in fact ahead of what was expected when the decision was made to add on to the East side.
"It's here for all us, this is our place," Chancellor Loftin said. "It's here for our team, it's here for our fans both today and tomorrow. We're going to be here a while. We're going to celebrate a lot of football."
Fans who are interested in purchasing tickets in premium seating or on the new Tiger Deck can look on MUTigers.com or reach the Mizzou Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
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