From “Pig Clubs” to presidential speeches, southeast Missourians have gathered together at the corner of Sprigg Street and New Madrid as a community; first it was for agricultural contests at the university’s demonstration farm and today to see live entertainment and sports at The Show Me Center.
To celebrate the university’s birthday, let’s talk about The Show Me Center.
For much of the twentieth century, the forty or so acres southwest of the intersection of Bertling and Sprigg streets was home to the College Demonstration Farm. After the farm closed in 1977, Southeast collaborated with the City of Cape Girardeau to build a modern, multi-million-dollar, multi-purpose arena, named – one would think – in honor of SEMO President Willard Vandiver’s unofficial state slogan: Show-Me.
The Show Me Center’s ground-breaking ceremony on March 21, 1985, attracted a veritable who’s who from campus and community. Over the next two years, barges and trucks supplied construction crews with heavy equipment, steel, and masonry. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $13.5 million facility on August 20, 1987, drew an even more distinguished assemblage including Senator Christopher Bond.
The Center replaced aging Houck Field House as the home court of Southeast athletics. It also attracts thousands to concerts – ranging from George Jones to Aerosmith – national touring companies, graduations, professional wrestling, the Harlem Globetrotters, political rallies, and of course, Southeast’s commencement. In any given year, The Show Me Center hosts over 250 meetings and 160 arena events for the local community – still a social center of Southeast Missouri.
