On Nov. 21, 2014, Griffon Athletics announced plans for a full renovation of Spratt Memorial Stadium. The nearly $8 million project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2016. Since 1979, Spratt Stadium has served as the home of Griffon Football and in 2006, also became the home of Griffon Soccer.
Renovation plans call for the demolition of the current concourse, concession area, restrooms, Stadium Club and press box. Those amenities will be reconstructed, expanded and improved, along with adding private suites. Repairs and improvements will also be made to the home grandstand area, including additional chair-back seating. Plans also call for the removal of the track from the stadium complex to facilitate moving the field and visitor’s seating closer to the home grandstands. Finally, the addition of a video board to replace the current scoreboard will round out the renovation.
On Aug. 7, 2015, plans for a $2.6 million video scoreboard were announced. The nearly 2,500 square foot display will be the largest in all of NCAA Division II. The total structure will span more than 105 feet wide and 72 feet tall, complete with LED video board, fireworks launchpad, storage rooms and static sign space. The video board was made possible by the largest individual gift in Griffon Athletics history, $1.1 million from Steve Craig, founder and CEO of Craig Realty Group and benefactor of the Craig School of Business at MWSU. For his contribution, MWSU named the playing surface at Spratt Memorial Stadium, "Craig Field." The video board is expected to be complete in time for spring commencement in 2016.
The project will be the first construction performed at the complex since the current visitor’s grandstand, concessions and restrooms were added in 2009. Prior to that project, field turf was installed to replace the natural grass surface in 2006. The visitor’s grandstand project boosted the total seating capacity of the stadium to 7,200.
Spratt Memorial Stadium was completed in 1979, and first used for Spring Commencement that year. The stadium is named in honor of avid Griffon supporter Elliot “Bub” Spratt and was constructed at a total cost of $850,000.
The first football game was played on the field Sept. 8, 1979, a 44-0 victory over Dana College. Lights were added six years later, and the Griffons won the first night game over Missouri-Rolla 24-15 on Sept. 4, 1985. Griffon soccer played its first match at Spratt Stadium on Sept. 3, 2006, a 3-2 win over Concordia-St. Paul.
The largest crowd for a football game at Spratt Stadium was 10,129 when the Griffons took on Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 3, 2009. Griffon football hosted its first NCAA Division II playoff game at Spratt against Northwest on Nov. 19, 2011, and celebrated its first home playoff victory with a 57-55 triple overtime win over Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 17, 2012.
Griffon football is 129-69-3 in 36 seasons at Spratt Stadium, a winning percentage of 64 percent. Griffon soccer is 20-46-9 in eight seasons at the facility.
In addition to Griffon football and soccer, Spratt Stadium hosts the St. Joseph High School Football Jamboree and the Missouri Western Department of Music’s annual Tournament of Champions High School Marching Band Competition, and was previously home of the Missouri State High School Eight-Man Football Championship Game. It hosted Spring Commencement ceremonies from 1979 to 1981, a tradition that was revived in May 2014.
IMPORTANT LINKS Steve Craig Makes Largest Gift to MWSU Athletics: A New Video Board for Spratt StadiumRenovation Photo Gallery Groundbreaking Photo GalleryGround Broken on Spratt Stadium Renovation Project Spratt Stadium Bid Awarded to E.L. Crawford ConstructionBoard Moves Forward on Possible Spratt Stadium Project BondsBoard Approves Spratt Stadium Architect
