The entrance and new bathrooms were finished before the start of the current football season, but next up on the list is getting a concession stand built in the same spot where the temporary concession stand currently resides.
“Our stated goal was to complete the concession stand in 2009 and we need about $45,000 to do that,” said 1979 Montrose High School graduate Ross Turner, who is heading up the fundraising end of the project. “We have about $5,000 in hand right now, so while we won’t get the concession stand built by the end of the year we’d like to get the fundraising finished by then. If we can do that then maybe we can get some contractors to come back in over the course of the winter and donate some of their time.”
 This 2007 file photo shows the MHS stadium before the start of recent renovations.(William Woody / Daily Press) Advertisement |
“We’ve worked with probably two dozen subcontractors,” said Stryker, who graduated from MHS in 1990. “They told me ‘yes’ a long time ago, but then the economy turned. The fortunate thing is that everyone has pretty much stayed the course and even in these tight times they still want to be a part of it. They know it’s an important asset to our community.
“It’s the front door to our town. For a lot of people, that’s the first thing they see when they drive into town for a game.”
The concession stand, which will be roughly 700-square feet upon completion, already has the electrical and plumbing roughed in, and Stryker said he hoped it would be finished by next year’s graduation ceremony.
“It will have a concession stand window and then another window where booster clubs or other organizations can sell their stuff out of,” Turner said.
The stadium project had its genesis in 2007, and since then more than 300 businesses, clubs, individuals and contractors have donated either money or their time to the cause of improving the stadium. The stadium improvement project is a component fund of the Montrose Community Foundation, which is a non-profit entity that collects and disburses the funds for the stadium improvements.
To date, the project has raised about $710,000 with $446,000 of that in cash and the rest in-kind donations, according to Turner.
The stadium improvement project coincided with the revival of the Montrose Indian football program—the Indians are currently gunning for their fourth-straight Southwestern League title—under coach Todd Casebier. Turner said once the Indians started winning it became apparent that more bleachers were needed.
On the Montrose side of the field, 800 new aluminum bleachers were added on the north and south sides to bring the total seating capacity to 3,000, but the additional fans in the seats overwhelmed the bathrooms located in the old concession stand building with the end result being portable bathrooms over the past few years.
Turner said Patrik Davis, and his staff at Patrik Davis Associates, contributed a lot of time and effort on the new entrance. “They designed something that fits in with the rest of the campus, and its something that people can be proud of,” Turner said. “The new bathroon facilities have been well received, and it’s nice to be able to go into a well-lit, warm place.”
Stryker said the new bathrooms are about 1,700-square feet combined.
“Just the bathroom portion alone would have been a $400,000 to $500,000 project, but we got it done for $265,000,” he said.
Once the concession stand is finished, the next step is adding handicap access and stairs from the entryway and concession stand up the north side of the home stands, which is the hill area that is currently dirt. Turner said additional work includes replacing the old wooden bleachers in front of the press box, and a new press box, but the stadium improvement committee has its sights set on a key component that it hopes can be completed next year.“The next big piece of the project is the artificial turf on the field,” Turner said. “We kind of indentified that as our 2010 goal. Can we get a half million raised in 2010? We’ll just have to see. I guess it depends on how the economy recovers.”
Artificial turf is a crucial element in making the stadium a multi-use facility since it won’t wear down like grass does.
“There’s just so much more you can do, band events, Special Olympics and things like that,” coach Casebier said. “I just think this is just a great example of teamwork from the Montrose community to get something done that will be a benefit for all kids, all events and for all of the community members.”
The last piece of the $2.2 million stadium improvement project puzzle will be a new locker room and media room facility. Turner said MHS’s enrollment has increased since Lloyd McMillan Memorial Gymnasium was built, as well as MHS becoming a four-year school with the addition of freshman classes.
“The media room will be a classroom that would hold 100 people and right now there’s no facility like that at the high school,” Turner said. “It could be used for staff meetings and large classes like the health program that every student has to take. That’s kind of the last piece of the project.
“We just want to invite people to be a part of the team and make a donation to the Montrose Community Foundation. We’ve had a lot of people follow through even though things have been tough and they deserve a lot of credit for doing that.”
t Details
To make a donation to the stadium improvement project write to:
Montrose Community Foundation
P.0. Box 3571
Montrose, CO 81402
Be sure to indicate that the funds are to be used for the stadium project.
For more information, visit www.montrosecommunitystadium.org, or call Ross Turner at 249-6691.
• Be respectful of others, the writer and the subjects in the story.
• Be relevant. Keep your comments on point.
• See the guidelines for TalkAbout. Perhaps your comment is best for that community forum, available from the home page, instead of commenting on a particular story.
Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. Montrose Press is not liable for messages from third parties.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in montrosepress.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Montrose Press. Montrose Press does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Montrose Press spokespersons.
Thank you for your comments!