EDITORIAL: Kidsports is indeed icing on the cake
Kalispell’s impressive Kidsports athletic complex is on track to become bigger and better this year as the city of Kalispell uses a $1.4 million state grant to build seven new multipurpose fields.
Gov. Steve Bullock recently told the city it will receive the money through a one-time youth recreational facility grant that was created by the Montana Legislature’s last session. Thanks to Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, for his role in making sure the grant was included in the state budget.
By building out the final 35 acres of the 126-acre Kidsports complex, the Kalispell community is poised to reap an even greater economic benefit from the facility. Kidsports already injects $7.4 million annually into the local economy, according to a state Department of Commerce study. The site is heavily used for large sporting events, and by adding more fields for soccer, football and lacrosse, Kidsports, we dare say, will be the finest athletic complex of its kind in Montana.
As Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson rightly noted, “this is the icing on the cake” for a stellar time in the city’s history. Indeed, the Kalispell area is starting 2016 with a full plate of projects.
The last 4.5 miles of the U.S. 93 bypass is underway. The majority of the $33.8 million highway project should be complete by the end of this summer’s construction season. We can’t wait for a complete bypass to create better traffic flow, especially in the north Kalispell area.
Commercial and residential development seems to be booming here again. The final phase of Spring Prairie is being developed south of Costco, adding 250,000 square feet of retail space. And don’t forget, a Krispy Kreme is among the mix of businesses headed to that area!
Construction at the Bloomstone subdivision is forging ahead, adding 120 dwelling units to north Kalispell. It’s much-needed apartment housing in a tight rental market.
Flathead Valley Community College has housing on its mind, too. The college’s Board of Trustees recently approved moving forward with the construction of student housing on the FVCC Kalispell campus. The development is set to offer about 100 beds by fall semester 2017.
Add to all of these projects the $10 million federal grant that will help develop the Glacier Rail Park and allow the city to move forward with its Core Area Urban Renewal Plan, and it’s plain to see that 2016 will be a year worth remembering for Kalispell. We can’t wait to watch it all unfold.