SEMO gears up for potential home playoff game with press box upgrades at Houck Field

With the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs looming, Southeast Missouri State University is updating Houck Field in its bid to host a playoff game in Cape Girardeau.

With the Redhawks (8-1, 5-0 OVC) currently being ranked sixth in the nation — SEMO’s highest-ever FCS ranking — and a playoff berth in sight, SEMO Athletics is taking steps to host a playoff game. A news release from the university said a playoff game in Cape Girardeau would be “win-win for both the team and the community.”

“Home field advantage is real,” Brady Barke, SEMO’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, said in a news release. “If our student-athletes and coaches earn the opportunity to compete in the FCS Playoffs, playing in front of our fans at Houck would make a huge difference.”

A large, permanent press box is planned as part of phase two of the Houck Multipurpose Complex Project. Still, the limited space currently available would not be sufficient for additional media and essential personnel that accompany playoff football. To meet stadium needs, SEMO’s Department of Facilities Management and Boulder Construction are collaborating with the Athletics Department to build a temporary media platform atop the south grandstand.

The project is being fully funded by donations, with supporters “contributing more than $60,000”, and construction on the 8-by-40-foot structure began this week.

“We reached out to our community for help with this critical investment, and their response was remarkable,” Barke said.

In addition to making necessary upgrades to its stadium, SEMO must also place a monetary bid to receive a home game in the playoffs. According to the 2024 NCAA Football Pre-Championship Manual (pages 17 and 18), "Prospective host institutions must submit the following minimum financial guarantees, which shall be 75% of the estimated net receipts as submitted on the proposed budget."

The minimum guarantee to host a first-round playoff game is $50,000, $60,000 for a second-round game, $70,000 for a quarterfinal game and $80,000 for a semifinal game.

If the Redhawks can secure a first-round bye, reserved for the the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee's top eight ranked teams in the country, SEMO would be bidding on a second-round game. According to the manual, if the minimum financial guarantees are met and the host can provide a "quality experience for the visiting team", the committee will award the home game to the higher-seeded team.

According to Jeff Honza, assistant athletic director of strategic communications, SEMO has not made its bid to the committee. When SEMO's bid is made, Honza said the amount will not be disclosed publicly because of the competitive nature of the bidding process. The deadline to submit bid materials is Wednesday, Nov. 6.

SEMO president Carlos Vargas said hosting a playoff game not only benefits SEMO, but the Cape Girardeau community at large.

"For local businesses, the influx of fans and media creates a positive economic impact that reaches beyond the stadium to the community and businesses who support our student-athletes,” he said.