Show Me Center upgrades may allow facility to draw more elaborate shows

Bigger, more elaborate entertainment offerings soon may make their way to the Show Me Center.

A new round of renovations to the facility were finished this summer that included reinforcing 80 steel beams, adding 20 more, a new catwalk and updates to the north parking lot.

It is those new and reinforced beams that will open new possibilities as far as performances are concerned.

The Show Me Center hosts around 20 arena-sized events each year.

But thanks to the renovations, that number could increase, according to Abbie Vander Bol, marketing director for the Show Me Center.

“Our rigging capacity almost doubled,” she said, so Show Me Center officials can consider shows they previously could not accommodate.

“We can look at those shows because we can bring them in,” Vander Bol said.

According to a news release, the 80 existing steel beams were strengthened to accommodate 5,000 pounds of rigging load each.

“Sometimes musicians have quite a bit of lighting and speakers and various things they would hang from the structure, and sometimes they can’t use everything they bring to site just because they don’t have the capacity to allow them to use it all,” Angela Meyer, director of facilities management, said.

A recent Miranda Lambert concert, Vander Bol said, was one that could not be accommodated fully because the rig could not be supported.

The LED screen Lambert performed in front of could not hang high enough to include an accompanying frame, so the frame was replaced with curtains.

The increased number of beams, Vander Bol said, will allow sets to be hung much higher.

Before the renovations, Vander Bol said, coordinators would have to take set size into consideration before booking.

“It’s always been a matter of looking at what their set is before we book it. And then you always ask them if they’re able to cut down a little bit,” Vander Bol said. “Now, hopefully, we won’t have to ask the people we are seeking out or that are seeking us if they can cut back.”

The renovations also mean the Show Me Center is getting notice from the events themselves. Vander Bol said they are getting ready to announce several shows in the coming months, and some of those approached them because of the renovations.

According to the news release, the structural steel upgrades this summer cost $815,715, and parking lot improvements cost $903,794.

Phase Two, like the phase before it, was financed with one-time funds with an internal loan from the university’s fund balance, previously approved by the board of regents.

The first phase took place over the summer of 2015, when the facility underwent about $5.6 million in renovations.

This included increased seating capacity, an upgraded scoreboard, sound and lighting systems and a new roof.

Visitors to the Show Me Center may not notice the interior renovations that came with Phase Two. Vander Bol said it lacked the “glitz and glam” of Phase One.

“If you didn’t look up into our beams a lot, you probably wouldn’t notice a difference,” Vander Bol said.

“To the average person coming into the show, no, they’re not going to notice,” Meyer said.

But for facilities management and those working in the Show Me Center, the beams are marked with weight limits and indications of what can be used for hanging. And a catwalk was added, Meyer said, to get to mechanical equipment easier.

What is noticeable is the refurbished north parking lot, which is expected to provide a better parking experience.

Vander Bol said Show Me Center staff has made a concerted effort to increase the number of shows at the facility over the last few years, and these new renovations will make it easier to do so.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for us,” Vander Bol said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

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