Lots of dirt was being moved on the east end of the Amend Park in south Billings, getting the land ready for a sports complex including an ice arena and indoor courts system-- two much needed venues to help bring sports enthusiasts to Billings.
“Sports tourism is a huge section of tourism. It’s a huge sticking point and a strategic plan for the Visit Billings team,” said Casey Conlon, Sports Tourism Director of Visit Billings.
Conlon continued, ”Billings supports 10,000 jobs just based on the tourism industry alone. And so it’s just a sector that we have to be more aggressive in and we’ve known that for some years. It’s been the lack of some facilities has honestly what’s been holding up back.”
The $16 million state-of-the art Signal Peak Ice Arena is a big part of the sports venue tourism draw.
“For so many groups we have heard for many, many years that they are out of space. They just don’t have the space to practice and play and grow to the ability that they want to do that. Right now it’s the only sheet of ice in Billings is up at Centennial Ice Arena,” Conlon said.
The Yellowstone Ice Foundation is well on its way to its fundraising goal, helped by $6 million from Signal Peak Mine near Roundup for the new ice arena.
Sharing the property with the ice arena is a sports courts facility that is still in the planning stages by Billings Park and Recreation. It will include 4 full-size courts that can be converted to youth courts, converted to volleyball courts that can also provide space for wrestling mats and indoor pickleball.
Aly Eggart, Executive Director of Visit Billings, says this ice arena/ courts complex is great for the city.
“Very exciting to have a really great public private partnership happening right here in our community and with no costs to our taxpayers which is a big deal,” Eggart commented.
Other sports venues on the scorecard that can impact tourism: a new outdoor rodeo arena under construction at the MetraPark fairgrounds, set to host a pro rodeo event during MontanaFair in August, and the renovation plans by the Billings School District for Daylis Stadium.
Conlon said within 500 miles of Billings are Rapid City, South Dakota, and Casper, Wyoming, about the only spaces that have something comparable to what is proposed for Amend Park.
“And so when you talk about the fact that there are not that many spaces that can hold everything , it positions Billings really well to be a center point, to bring in so many opportunities,” Conlon said.
Official groundbreaking for the ice arena is May 7 near Amend Park.
