Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 1.6.16

NEWS
Kidsports Complex Awarded $1.4 Million Grant
for New Fields, Infrastructure
Popular public facility to expand with seven new multi-purpose elds, additional parking
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Kidsports Complex received a late Christmas present.
The popular youth sports facility in Kalispell was awarded $1.41 million in grant funding to build new elds and infrastructure.
Gov. Steve Bullock informed the city of Kalispell on Dec. 29 that it would receive funds through a one-time youth recreational facility grant that was established by the state Legislature last session.
Columbia Falls is also receiving funding — roughly $88,000 — for parking improvements and road paving at the Sapa-Johnsrud baseball eld.
“Projects such as these help local communities pro- vide recreational opportunities and strengthen the local economy,” Bullock stated in his letter.
Dan Johns, president and founder of Kidsports Com- plex, said the grant funding will allow the facility to expand with seven new multi-purpose elds, additional parking and road access as well as other infrastructure on a 35-acre section of undeveloped land that is on the north end of the 126-acre public complex.
“This is a good way to celebrate Christmas and the new year,” Johns said of the grant announcement. “It will be a nice boost.”
The expansion of Kidsports Complex will allow the facility to further develop into a regional destination for tournaments, as well as a popular gathering site for local teams and events.
The development is also occuring at a time when the city is improving Four Mile Drive, the lone access point to the complex that only funnels into U.S. 93 at the moment. Crews will complete Four Mile Drive west to Stillwater Road with a atter grade, allowing for another entry and exit point. The new bypass will run north to south adjacent to Four Mile.
Created in 1999, Kidsports features 30 elds for base- ball, softball, football and soccer. The site frequently hosts large events, including the Three Blind Refs soccer tournament, which annually attracts over 2,500 players.
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce conducted a study that found $7.6 million in economic impacts to the community related to events hosted at Kidsports.
The chamber gathered signatures of support from the community leading up to Kidsports’ grant application
Soccer teams practice at Kidsports Complex in Kalispell. BEACON FILE PHOTO last month.
“We had tremendous community support,” Johns said.
Johns said the new mixed-use elds will allow for increased opportunities for soccer, football and lacrosse. There are also future plans to improve disabil- ity access throughout the complex and build an inclusive playground that o ers adaptive structures for individu- als with special needs.
Johns said crews could start working on the infra- structure in spring. The elds could be completed by 2017.
State Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, spearheaded the bill that was attached to the state budget and set aside $1.5 million for capital improvements to youth recreational facilities on school trust lands. Kalispell
and Columbia Falls were the only two applicants for the grant funding, according to Kelly Lynch with the com- munity development division of the state’s Department of Commerce.
The grant is the second signi cant funding boost awarded to Kalispell in recent months. In October, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that Kalis- pell would receive a $10 million transportation grant to develop an industrial rail park and propel a massive eco- nomic development project in the core area.
The grant funding also follows a signi cant in ux of funding for the nal phase of the bypass. The Montana Department of Transportation awarded a $34 million contract, the largest single contract in state history, to LHC for the remaining pieces of the road project.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
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JANUARY 6, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM