Bigfork Booster Club eyeing new stadium
Bigfork High School on Monday, June 3. (Avery Howe/Bigfork Eagle)
The Bigfork Booster Club is hoping to raise $3.5 million to renovate Bigfork High School’s stadium.
The goal of Turf Club, a subset of the Booster Club, will be to install an artificial turf field, renovate walkways and paving around the stadium, expand storage space, upgrade entry points and put in an improved scoreboard and lighting. A donor recognition wall would also be put up.
The fundraising structure was still in the works as of last week, but ideas included the option for a one-time donation or a three-year commitment. Naming rights for individual components of the stadium, such as the field, scoreboard or locker room, were also on the table.
Athletic director Matt Porrovecchio explained that the idea of having naming rights or business sponsorships for school facilities has become common practice during the Bigfork Public Schools board meeting Wednesday, Oct. 9.
“We’re probably one of the only schools that doesn’t have too too much of that... It’s done, schools rely on outside support for their facilities,” Porrovecchio said.
The idea is that donations would be entirely private, without putting the burden on taxpayers in general. Rather, people in the valley looking for ways to get tax deductions may be interested in contributing. Turf Club has already been in talks with local businesses and private donors to see if the project is feasible.
In other school news, Bigfork Public Schools plans to put out a survey regarding the possibility of a four-day school week. The goal is to release the survey to the community by Nov. 1.
The survey will be distributed via email. Participants will be able to check a box for each category they fit into – parents, staff, community members, etc. -- which will allow the collected data to be broken down.
“We’ll be able to extrapolate the information and say, ‘What do the elementary parents think? What does the elementary staff think?’” superintendent Tom Stack explained.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13.