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| Sports Park at Mizzou |
Getting to Taylor Stadium
- Take the Stadium Blvd. Exit off I-70, head south on Stadium Blvd. for about 4 miles to Providence Road. Turn right (south) on Providence. Less than 1 block later, turn right on Carrie Francke Drive (directly across from the football stadium and basketball arena). At the first 4-way intersection, turn right to go to the parking lots nearest Taylor Stadium. Turn left for Reactor Field parking. Go straight if you changed your mind and want to go play a round of golf.
- Take the Providence Road Exit off I-70, head south on Providence Road about 3 miles. Less than 1 block past the Stadium Blvd intersection, turn right on Carrie Francke Drive (directly across from the football stadium). At the first 4-way intersection, turn right to go tot he parking lots nearest Taylor Stadium. Turn left for Reactor Field parking. If there's an event staff person waving you away from turning right, pretend you don't notice him and drive on up the hill and tell his boss at the top of the hill that he guy at the bottom said it was OK.
- Take the Stadium Blvd Exit off Highway 63; head west on Stadium Blvd about 2.5 miles. Turn left (south) at Providence Road. Less than 1 block later, turn right on Carrie Francke Drive (directly across from the football stadium). At the first 4-way intersection, turn right to go to the parking lots nearest Taylor Stadium. Turn left for Reactor Field parking. Go straight if you'd rather watch softball.
The parking lot closest to the ballpark, at the top of the hill, is NOT OPEN to athletic event parking between 8 AM and 5 PM. Your car will very likely be towed if you do not follow this restriction. After 5:00, baseball fans may use that lot.
The paved lot just to the south of that lot (still at the top of the hill) IS OPEN to athletic event parking at ALL HOURS. However, for many baseball games, that lot is reserved for staff, umpires and others with special passes.
A gravel lot at the top of the hill, running along the south of the Walton Soccer/Track Stadium, is also open to baseball parking. Unless it's full.
Parking will not be allowed on the side of the road leading down the hill.
There are parking lots at the bottom of the hill, south of the ballpark, that are also available for athletic event parking. A golf cart, driven by a crazed Event Staff employee, will be available to give weary fans a lift up the Summit.
Also, there is a walkway over Providence Road, connecting the Faurot Field football parking area with Simmons Field. When other events do not conflict, parking may be available there.
Where SHOULD I park?
As any college baseball fan knows, foul balls are drawn by a mysterious scientific force to the windows of cars parked in stadium parking lots. Therefore, if you park in one of the lots at the top of the hill, the safest spot is farthest away from the ballpark, or behind some Jayhawk's van. My favorite spot to park is in the gravel lot just south of the soccer/track stadium.
Tailgating at Taylor Stadium
Tailgating at baseball games usually takes place in the parking lots. There are no electrical hookups. While it's technically a dry campus, no one is going to deny you the right to have alcohol at your tailgate party in the parking lot. Unless you cross that undefined line toward being too rowdy; then they'll enforce the rule.
Tickets
Except for the one Regional we hosted in 2007, there has never been a regular season game when fans couldn't walk up to the ticket booth at game time and purchase however many tickets for decent seats they could possibly want. Seating capacity is about 3,500 and there are 243 season tickets, held by 80 accounts (2012 numbers).
I will pause now while our friends from other SEC schools take time to laugh.
The price in 2013 for single game walk-up tickets was $5 per ticket, with a discount price of $3 for children under 12 and for senior citizens.
Renewal notices for season tickets have already gone out, due by December 21st.
Season tickets for Mizzou baseball can be purchased through the Mizzou Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or logging onto MUTigers.com. At just $60 for adults and $30, fans can see every game at Mizzou for just $2 per game (adults) and $1 per game (youth) this season, making it one of the best ticket packages in the SEC. (mutigers.com)
Official MUTigers.com Tickets page
Seating at Taylor Stadium
The lower section at Taylor Stadium contains bucket-style seat-back chairs. This is where all the season ticket holders' reserved seats are located. Those seats are not marked as reserved, so be ready to move if a season ticket holder tells you you're in his seat.
The upper section is all bleacher seating, as is the right field line extended section. In theory, this is where general admission ticket holders are supposed to sit. In reality, sit where you want. If you don't ask the Event Staff to show you to your seat, they'll never know.
You aren't allowed to bring in your own food or drink to the game, but there are concessions. The concession stand (for large crowds there are two concession stands) sell pretty standard ballpark fare: hot dogs, brats, cheeseburgers, nachos, pop corn, etc. Nothing too exciting or unusual, but what they have is good.
I recommend the Heater Dog, which features blue cheese slaw and hot sauce on a hot dog.
Taylor Stadium Rules
- No alcohol is sold or allowed inside Taylor Stadium. And unlike some SEC ballparks, there's no Left field Lounge or similar area to legally imbibe within sight of the playing field. We come to the ballpark for the baseball.
- Foul balls and home run balls: The rule on caught or retrieved balls seems to change each season, and even changes during the season. For the past few years the rule has been that all baseballs should be returned to the Event Staff. They will come and get it from you. But every year that rule is applied selectively depending on which Event Staff person is involved and who has the ball int heir hands.
And then there was the ball hawk who began snagging stray baseballs during the 2012 season and got his story in the paper, which prompted this response from the assistant director of game operations:
“We try to get back as many foul balls as we can, but we don’t go and yank them out of people’s hands,” Doolittle said. “If we lose a handful, a dozen a game, it’s not the end of the world for us.”
- Heckling: There are the usual NCAA warnings before the game about showing disrespect to opposing players. But no one's going to shut you down unless you become so rude or obscene that someone within earshot complains to the Event Staff.
I highly recommend heckling according to the 10 Commandment of Heckling, by Christ Snead.
- No umbrellas allowed, no matter how nasty the weather.
- No smoking inside the gates of Taylor Stadium. This one is enforced.
- More detailed list of stadium rules HERE
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