Oct. 15, 2025
Contact: Christopher Ave, Christopher.Ave@missouri.edu
During the September Board of Curators meeting, University of Missouri leaders shared plans to pursue opportunities to utilize university land to provide meaningful revenue, boost the area’s economy and enhance gameday experiences for fans.
Today, the university took the first step in this project and issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) for Commercial Real Estate Development. This RFI will solicit information and ideas from interested parties to develop lands that are nonessential to the university’s mission, objectives or real estate platform and/or have the potential to generate significant funding for the university.
“This pursuit is consistent with what we are seeing across the country at both the collegiate and professional levels,” said UM Board of Curators Chair Todd Graves. “With the goal of bringing more amenities to our campus, we are committed to moving quickly but thoughtfully and are excited to see what ideas developers have for these areas.”
With three zones emphasized in the RFI, the initiative will explore all appropriate opportunities for development, including public-private partnerships and long-term lease arrangements for mixed-use development, housing and other viable projects.
“Our priority is to pursue projects that serve as a year-round destination beneficial to all members and visitors of our community and that also enhances the gameday experience within the MU Athletics Sports Complex,” said University of Missouri President Mun Choi. “We’re looking forward to this exciting opportunity to transform our campus and the area surrounding the university.”
The university intends to move quickly on pursuing opportunities with the initial solicitation of the RFI. Those results will be evaluated in early 2026 with the next step being a formal Request for Proposals with the worthwhile options.
A working group comprised of Board Chair Todd Graves, Curator Bob Blitz, Athletics Director Laird Veatch, General Counsel Mark Menghini and Executive Vice President and CFO Ryan Rapp will lead this important initiative. The group will oversee each stage of the project, including project coordination and planning, proposal solicitation, developer selection, Board of Curators engagement and project execution.
Learn more about University of Missouri commercial development opportunities.
