BILLINGS — Saturday turned the Amend Recreation Campus into the center of Montana sports, as thousands of athletes and fans came together for one of the campus's largest and most diverse event days yet.
For the first time, all major facilities were put to use at once, with more than 4,000 people estimated in attendance.
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The day brought together the starting line of the state cross country championships, Special Olympics Montana basketball regionals taking over the courts and youth hockey players hitting the ice — all under one campus. It also features a community volunteer fair and a Montana Grizzlies vs. Montana State Bobcats ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) hockey matchup.
Casey Conlon, Visit Billings sports tourism director, said the moment has been years in the making. With Signal Peak Arena and the rec center opening just months ago, the weekend offered the first real glimpse of what the campus can do.
"It's really our first chance to see this campus be fully activated all at one time," Conlon said Saturday.
"They didn't quite understand everything that has opened and gotten built. And so I think people are really going to have their eyes opened, especially this weekend who are around here," Conlon said.
That was the case for visitors who traveled from across the state. Rhonda Voss made the trip from Circle.
"Always so fun as so many people, and we're so excited to watch Luke run," Voss said.
But it was not just the runners racing — parking was also a race.
"We paid the $10. It's worth it," Kim Ship said.
Conlon said that with any major event, there are usually more people than parking spaces.
"Everybody here is trying to basically do the best to logistically make it work," Conlon said. "I was here probably about 8:30 a.m. and both of those were pretty much already filled since those events got started between 7 and 8 a.m."
Inside the facilities, the reviews were positive — something Kamryn Rafferty, a volunteer for Special Olympics, was excited about.
"I always love seeing how many people come out and support, and it's done a great job at holding all of us," Rafferty said.
While Saturday revealed some lessons, Conlon said that is exactly the point of a test run this big.
"It just helps us prepare going forward to see kind of maybe what the challenges are, how we can meet the needs of that many visitors at one time in one space between parking, between food options, between getting people to and from spaces in a timely manner, accurately," Conlon said.
As Billings continues to grow its sports tourism footprint, Saturday showed the Amend Recreation Campus is already drawing the crowds.
"It's something that is not duplicated anywhere around the state. It's something that they just never really knew existed and how exciting it could," Conlon said.
