03/25/2024
3 Questions For
Carroll College’s Nelson Stadium is getting a facelift with a new artificial field turf system and stadium lights. The college announced the project in September 2023, and officially broke ground on Monday, March 18. Carroll College Athletic Director Charlie Gross spoke with Montana Free Press about the stadium renovation and shared how he expects the upgrades to impact both Carroll and the Helena community. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: Why were the stadium additions needed?
Gross: We’ve got this magnificent facility and really we were on the surface about 18 times a year. It allows us to maximize the daily usage of it, and why is that? Because we’re putting a surface in there that is made to be used, rather than natural grass that we’re trying to keep in great shape for athletics in the fall.
When Nelson Stadium was built we really had two outdoor sports. We had football and we had women’s soccer. Since 2001, since the stadium’s been open, we’ve added men’s soccer, we’ve added softball, we’ve added track and field, and now over two-thirds of Carroll student-athletes require an outdoor practice space, so our need for outdoor spaces has increased. [The new turf] provides a consistent surface, no matter what the weather conditions are, that allows for high-quality practices.
We’re adding lights as well, they allow us to expand the hours of usage. The lights will allow us to work around our practice, around our class schedules, and allow us to increase programming for our student body at Carroll through enhanced intramural programming or developing emerging sports that are in the area.
MTFP: What is the cost of the renovations and how is the college funding it?
Gross: We are fundraising for it, and we’re currently in that process. It’s a combination of private donations and working with some naming rights and naming recognition through the field and through the stadium itself. We are working diligently to secure the funds to pay for the entire facility. It’s about a $5.4 million project and we expect the surface to be playable in early August and the installation of the lights to be completed in September.
Because of the natural bowl that the field lies in, the work to do it takes a fair amount of excavation and requires some retaining walls to be built because of the grade of the hills that surround this field. The retaining wall and curving around the perimeter of the field needs to be completed before you can work on installing the actual synthetic carpet. So that’s really what’s going on over the next two months.
MTFP: How will the project impact the greater Helena area?
Gross: We are going to be able to open the gates of the stadium for usage by the Helena community, and we haven’t been able to do that because we’ve had to maintain the quality of the grass. You can only let so much on that field if you want to have quality grass in the fall.
Carroll tries to be a good partner within the community in what we program on campus and how we make our facilities available and how we serve the community. We’re going to expand that now to Nelson Stadium and then we want the community to use the stadium. We want to have high school events. We want to have area youth tournaments. We want to have non-traditional things, like possibly concerts. We want to have this be the location for summer all-star contests and games.
So there’s a lot of different things that can go on, and then the more we host in there and the more types of activities we have that draw people to Helena from the outside, there’s definitely an economic impact also for the community.
Public Notice
Local engineering firm Sanderson Stewart has been studying potential improvements at the “five points intersection” where North Last Chance Gulch, Neill Avenue, Helena Avenue, 11th Avenue and Cruse Avenue converge around Cruse Park. This week, Helenans can get an update on the study’s progress.
The city has scheduled an open house on Tuesday, March 26, to update downtown business owners and residents on the study’s status and answer questions.
The study team plans to make two 20-minute presentations, one at 4:30 p.m. and another at 6 p.m., with a Q&A to follow each session, focused on communicating the community impacts of a conceptual design before it’s finalized.
The open house will be held at the Helena Civic Center, 340 Neill Ave. Doors will open at 4 p.m. and the program ends at 7 p.m. For more information, visit the city’s website.
5 Things to Know in Helena
School levy language approved: The Helena School District Board of Trustees finalized levy language for the May 7 school board election during a work session on Tuesday, March 19. Trustees passed a motion to add five of six originally proposed levies to the ballot, and decided not to request an operational levy for the high school district. The board had originally proposed adding safety and security, technology and operational levies for both the elementary and high school districts. Trustees say the levies are necessary to help offset necessary budget cuts.
According to the new ballot language, if voters approve all five of the proposed levies, the annual tax impact for homes valued at $300,000 would go up about $331, and $600,000 homes would see an increase of about $662.
10-cent lunch bump: Also at the school board work session, trustees approved a 10-cent increase to the price of elementary school lunches from $2.90 to $3, and the price of middle and high school lunches from $3 to $3.10, starting next school year. Robert Worthy, the district’s food service director, said the change is needed to keep up with rising food costs, and that students who participate in the district’s free and reduced lunch program won’t be affected.
Local arts underground: During a city commission administration meeting on March 6, the Helena Public Art Committee presented 20 artist submissions for the city’s Lyndale Avenue tunnel mural project. The committee highlighted its top pick, “Queen City of the Rockies,” by Wyatt Hersey, an artist from Santa Cruz, California. At the March 20 administrative meeting, following further discussion about the inclusion of local artists, city staff recommended their own top choice: “Wildfire,” by Montana artist Elise Perpignano. Both recommendations will receive final consideration when the commission votes for a winning proposal at its Monday, March 25 meeting.
Health in Helena: The Lewis and Clark County Health Department is gearing up to begin its once-every-three-years Community Health Assessment in partnership with local health care providers and nonprofits. The assessment, beginning in June, will be performed through door-to-door and telephone outreach by county volunteers, and will for the first time also survey neighboring Jefferson, Broadwater, Meagher and Powell counties to get a more comprehensive understanding of the region’s health needs.
Last hurrah: The Montana Club, which closed its doors earlier this year, has announced that it will host one last event on Friday, March 29, from 4 p.m. until closing, with adult libations. The club’s secretary, Ramon Mercado, shared the news during the March 21 Hometown Helena meeting and said that after the event the club’s liquor license will become inactive.
Spending the drug money
Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins recommended a final Helena representative to join an advisory committee that will help allocate funds from the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust during the city commission administrative meeting on Wednesday, March 20. Now the commission will vote on the appointment of James Petrovich, chair of the Department of Social Work at Carroll College, during the commission’s meeting on Monday, March 25.
The rest of the committee is composed of Collins, Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Tom Rolfe, East Helena councilmember Wesley Feist, and county representative Coleen Smith.
The advisory committee is charged with reviewing local applications for the funds and making recommendations to the opioid abatement trust.
The Montana Opoid Abatement Trust was created by a multi-state settlement with pharmaceutical companies related to the opioid epidemic. Money from the trust is intended to help fund local agencies that provide treatment, recovery and preventive services.
Montana is expected to receive about $75 million from the trust over the next 18 years. The state received its first payment of about $13 million last year.
Might Be Fun
The Exchange Club of Helena celebrates its 10th annual Spring Beer Fest on Saturday, March 30, at 3 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Fairgrounds. The event will raise money for military and veteran organizations through Exchange Club community service programs. The fest will feature drinks from 13 Montana breweries, including some local favorites. In addition to the brews, the event will have live music from the Trevor Murray Band, Dan Henry, and Jarred Hanson & the SunsAh406. Tickets start at $20 for general admission and range up to $85 for VIP packages. Tickets are available for purchase on the club’s website.
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].
