Grandstand project moving forward

Work on a new stadium grandstand at Memorial Park in Whitefish is under way, according to Glacier Twins Board president Colby Miller and Grandstand Task Force chairman Bob Lockman.

The new structure will replace the historic 1,000-seat structure that stood for 66 years at East Second Street and Fir Avenue. When the old structure was condemned, torn down and hauled away in June 2002, the hope was that a replacement grandstand could be built within a few years.

For the past eight seasons, however, the Glacier Twins American Legion Baseball program borrowed movable aluminum bleachers from Whitefish High School for scheduled games and tournaments at Memorial Park.

The Twins also used a hastily constructed backstop, made of salvaged roof purlins and seating boards from the old grandstand. The backstop's vertical supports are now failing and unsafe, and the horizontal base members are in an extreme state of decay.

Fans and spectators have also voiced strong concerns over the lack of covered and protected seating at the ball park. To address these concerns, the Twins board and the Task Force accelerated efforts to make the new grandstand a reality.

CTA Architects, Beaudette Structural Engineers, the Task Force and several Twins board members studied ways to reduce overall construction costs by breaking down the project down into phases. Phase I, which is under way, includes excavation, concrete footings, piers and walls, log columns, Glu-Lam roof beams, rafter beams, roof decking and metal roofing.

All of the Phase I work is scheduled for completion before the start of next year's baseball season. With a new backstop and roof structure in place, temporary spectator seating will be moved under the new roof for the 2010 season only.

Phase II construction — including a permanent seating structure and support areas — could begin by August, after the American Legion Baseball season has ended.

Fundraising continues, with another $60,000 needed to complete the Phase I work. Efforts to raise these funds will be stepped up in the next few months so there will be no delay in completing the Phase I work.

Over the past three years, the Twins alone obtained the funds and provided the manpower to install a new $250,000 state-of-the-art and Dark Skies-compliant lighting system at Memorial Field, which is used for both baseball and high school football. In addition, over the past 10 years, the Twins have conservatively supplied another $250,000 for other capital improvements at the city-owned facility.

For more information or to make contributions, write to Glacier Twins American Legion Baseball, P.O. Box 2007, Whitefish MT, 59937 or call Bob Lockman at 862-9011 or 270-2386. The Twins are incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.