BILLINGS — The Billings Chamber of Commerce updated the community Thursday morning on four sports facility projects, whose purposes are to increase sports tourism in Billings.
The four projects were the return of the outdoor rodeo complex to MetraPark, the renovation of Daylis Stadium, the construction of the Signal Peak Ice Arena and the construction a Billings recreational sport court facility — both planned near Amend Park.
The chamber believes all four facilities will help increase foot traffic in Billings, by allowing the city to host more events.
Watch video here:
Parker Phipps, president of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation, highlighted the potential impact of these developments. The Yellowstone Ice Foundation has been the leader in developing the Signal Peak Arena.
“It’s really going to be great for the community, and it’s really going to drive sports tourism,” Phipps said of the new facilities, following the event.
MetraPark General Manager Stoney Field agreed, explaining that more local events will help the local economy flourish.
“It’s considered tourism, but really folks are following their teams, their families, and putting on events that will make a difference in a lot of people’s lives,” Field said.
In terms of the timeline, the outdoor rodeo facility at MetraPark will be the first facility finished. Field said the expectation is for the project to be complete by July 15, in time for two big events: the MontanaFair and Rodeo Billings.
“It’s going to be something that brings a new entertainment level to the area," Field said. "And we should entice other bigger events to come and utilize our facility. It's inspiring to be able to build something."
Next in line will likely be the Signal Peak Ice Arena, with groundbreaking set for May 7.
"We got the funding approved in July of 2024," Phipps said. "And here we are, nearly eight months later and we're breaking ground."
The Ice Arena will go up alongisde a $21 million sport court facility, which is funded by the City of Billings. Both are efforts to bring a recreation complex to Billings, after voters turned down a $143 million parks bond in 2023.
"We were all hoping the parks bond would pass in 2023," Phipps said. "Obviously, that didn't happen, but the need is still there."
Billings Schools Superintendent Erwin Garcia spoke at the event at the Northern Hotel, saying that the district has raised 60 percent of the money needed to renovate Daylis Stadium.
The stadium is nearly 100 years old and has begun to show signs of age. Last year, the concrete structure on the west side bleachers was ruled off-limits throughout the high school football season due to safety concerns with the crumbling steps.
In addition to those four major projects, a new position was created within Visit Billings. Longtime Q2 sports anchor and reporter Casey Conlon recently accepted a position as the sports tourism director, a first of its kind in the entire state.
“Billings has been talking about sports venues and the need for more facilities for years,” Conlon said. “It’s my job to help these facilities get full, right? To not only have them shining lights in the community but to bring others in to show them just how cool of a place Billings is."
Conlon said the hope is that these upgrades will bring more events with larger crowds to Billings, which in turn would help boost the local economy. He said his primary goal is to make Billings a sports hub.
“If you think about sports in this region, it's a lot of travel. We're kind of isolated, and that's just the way it is," Conlon said. "You want this to be the regional sports destination within several hundred miles. Billings is positioned to do that."
With a unified goal, it appears that process is already underway.
“Just like medical is for Billings, we’re the hub for the state. We should be the hub for sports,” Phipps said.
