Wrestling match under the Arch? Missouri athletics continues quest to engage St. Louis
Missouri wrestling coach Brian Smith had a big idea as he drove into St. Louis. Smith was on his way to speak at MU’s Come Home Tour stop and the city’s most well-known landmark spoke to him.
“I saw the Arch and I’m like ooh,” Smith said to reporters before the event started. “How awesome would it be to have a match under the Arch, in the park there? I’m dead serious about that.”
It wouldn’t be the MU wrestling program’s first time taking its show on the road. The Tigers have left the confines of the Hearnes Center and hosted matches in the likes of Jesse Auditorium and Mizzou Softball Stadium.
They started out wrestling in high school gyms, packing out Hazelwood Central in St. Louis. Now, Smith said the Tigers are finalizing a match at the Mound City’s Stifel Theater.
The coach was practically levitating with excitement explaining the plan.
“That’ll be (an) unbelievable atmosphere,” Smith said. “We just walked in there and saw the stage. Upper-deck seats I think will be better, but it’s just fun. It’s fun for the athletes. The crowd enjoys going to a different venue like that and we have a great following, especially here (in St. Louis).”
Smith mentioned the wrestling history of St. Louis, which has held multiple NCAA national championships. It’s an important place for the sport.
It’s just as important for Missouri. The Tigers play games in multiple sports across the city as part of its “Mizzou to the Lou” series of upcoming games.
The headline event will be a football game against Memphis on Sept. 23 in the Dome at America’s Center. According to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, it’s part of a strategy born when he first took the job.
“One of the things... we had talked to the previous administration about was how do we reengage the city of St. Louis,” Drinkwitz said. “... At the end of the day, St. Louis is the leading alumni base for the University of Missouri and we got to tap into those fans.”
Next season’s game will be the first time the Tigers have played in St. Louis since 2010. In the past, they would regularly play Illinois in the same city as the Braggin’ Rights basketball game is held.
Now, MU has the opportunity to energize its fan base in the city. With Drinkwitz focusing in on acquiring players from the area, most notably five-star Luther Burden, it’s a chance to score recruiting points with recruits.
“I think it could absolutely have an impact,” Drinkwitz said. “I think the fact that you can sell to recruits that you’ve got a chance to play in front of your hometown and your parents can come watch you play, and not just parents but little league coaches, mentors, people in your community can come watch you play and help you build your brand, I think that’s a powerful thing.”
Wrestling and football aren’t the end of the series either. MU and the St. Louis Sports Commission have said they’re planning on scheduling even more sports during 2023 and 2024.
If the plan works, it would give the Tigers more of a foothold in a town that has consistently demonstrated its love for its favorite teams at the box office.
“This is a great sports city,” Drinkwitz told the crowd. “St. Louis (City) soccer, the Blues, the Battlehawks, the Cardinals, you can all be fans of those. But we all represent the University of Missouri.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri athletics tries to attract St. Louis fans
