Now that the city of Wichita Falls owns the Sikes Senter Mall, both the city and MSU are looking towards the future.
Wichita Falls became the owner of the Sikes Senter Mall on Oct. 15, after announcing their plan to buy the property in July 2025. The city plans on demolishing the current building and constructing new shopping centers and a new stadium.
“On the university side, we are working with a group that has experience with Texas Tech, and so we are fortunate. Tech has, I think, a billion dollars worth of construction underway right now, so they have a great deal of experience, and especially with athletic facilities,” President Stacia Haynie said.
While MSU begins to plan for the future stadium, the university needs to secure finances for construction.
“We’ve got to secure the financing to move that forward, and so we are going to be having those conversations with our potential philanthropic investors soon, and the sooner we are able to secure that, the better,” Haynie said.
However, philanthropic investments will not be the only source of funds for the stadium. Athletic fees may also be raised in order to help fund the stadium, though MSU plans on discussing this with the student government first.
Haynie said that so far, the student government has been open to the project and willing to push it forward despite graduating before the stadium is complete.
“Students here are agreeing, they want to see this in the future. But they’re going to have to ‘plant that acorn,’ as our student government president has said,” Haynie said. “[and appreciate] that the shade of that tree will be enjoyed by other students.”
Part of the reason MSU plans to build a new stadium is because of the current condition of the Memorial Stadium. However, Haynie believes that having the stadium will be beneficial to the campus because of its proximity to campus.
“I think that Memorial is 60, 70 years old, and it is needing upgrades, and to do that often can be as costly as a new facility,” Haynie said. “But I think it’s also important for our campus, especially because of the location, to have our own [stadium].”
