Border Showdown: Rivalry moves closer to the state line
Jan. 30, 2007
Officials from MU, the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Chiefs met at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 22 to announce the move of the annual Border Showdown football game to Kansas City. KU Coach Mark Mangino said he is excited the game will be close to Lawrence, Kan.
MU students tailgate in the parking lot before the Missouri football game in September. During the next two years, MU students will not be able to enjoy a game against Kansas at Faurot Field.
Changes to the location of the Border Showdown between the Kansas and MU football teams will impact the city's economics and the game's audience. In both 2007 and 2008, the game will be held at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The All Sports Pass offered by the MU athletic department will not include tickets to the relocated game.
MU athletic department spokesman Chad Moeller said he views this as a positive change.
"If we put it in our season ticket package, then it's mandatory," Moller said. "Then you've paid more to go to that game whether you plan to go to that game or not."
Moller said removing Kansas from the ticket package will allow consumers more choice with regard to how much they spend, especially on a game held off-campus.
"We hope that people get excited and hope that people will go to Kansas City to see that game," Moller said.
During a news conference in Kansas City on Jan. 23, Carl Peterson, general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs, said students would be able to purchase discounted tickets to the relocated game. The price of tickets to the general public will be between $50 and $60.
Sophomore Adam Stillman had an All Sports Pass this year and attended several football games, but he said it is not likely he will go to the Kansas game next year.
"It's so much easier to go to the game when its here at Mizzou, than when it's in Kansas City," Stillman said.
He said he thinks fewer students overall will attend the game due to the distance, as well as the nature of the rivalry itself.
"It's not as big of a rivalry in football as it is in basketball," Stillman said. "So it's not as important."
Football games bring in a large amount of revenue for the city of Columbia and local businesses because many alumni and fans travel from neighboring cities and towns to view the high-profile game.
"The Kansas-Missouri game is much like a homecoming or a Nebraska game or a family weekend in that it is a traditional rivalry," said Lorah Steiner, director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau. "So we have many people who would not necessarily attend a regular game who would come in for the Kansas game specifically."
She said the average football game raises $1-$1.5 million, and the average KU game brings in $1.5-$2 million each year.
These numbers are generated from visitors who stay overnight, not necessarily those who just travel to Columbia for the game.
"Having it go to KC is a personal loss to a lot of people, but there is also some benefit because we have to remember that the University of Missouri is not just our university," she said. "It's a university that belongs to the entire state. We're sure that the KC alumni will be thrilled to have the game in Kansas City."
Agencies involved in event security and monitoring traffic and pedestrians include the MU Police, Columbia Police and Boone County Police Departments.
Capt. Brian Weimer of the MU Police Department said the change would not affect MU police because there will still be the same amount of games held on campus. Although the schedule has yet to be finalized, an additional non-conference game will be added to MU's schedule to keep the total number of home games at six.
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