BILLINGS — A $62 million proposal from the Billings Public Schools High School Solutions Committee to revamp Daylis Stadium and the surrounding area was presented in the committee’s meeting at Billings Senior on Tuesday.
The massive project, if completed in its full form, would transform the decaying 95-year-old venue into a modern and versatile facility with major improvements to multiple facets of the site, including but not limited to parking, seating and spaces used by student-athletes.
Daylis is currently the home field of the football teams of Senior, Billings West and Billings Skyview, as well as the host of occasional track meets and formerly soccer matches. It additionally hosts the opening ceremonies of the Big Sky State Games and was the venue of the Montana East-West Shrine Game last month.
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Daylis Stadium is photographed on Tuesday. A $62 million proposal for improvements in and around the aging facility, built in 1929 and located at Billings Senior, was presented during a Billings Public Schools High School Solutions Committee meeting Tuesday. Proposed additions would include a parking garage at Senior, a 10-lane track and numerous locker room and seating renovations.
Funding sources for the project are currently hazy, with BPS trustee Janna Hafer expressing doubt that a bond for Daylis would be viable after voters struck down a $143 million bond to invest in parks, trails, and recreation across Billings last November and elementary and high school safety levies in May.
Other potential funding sources floated by Hafer included a fundraising campaign, applying for an INTERCAP loan offered by the state government, donations, grants, and increasing ticket prices.
No action on the plan was taken Tuesday, with the committee planning to discuss the matter further during a public meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Lincoln Center.
“The official answer is it’s still being talked out,” Hafer said. “I’ve said in public meetings before (that) my first choice was last year, or the year before that or the year before that. But we are where we are.
“What I’ve seen and what I’ve heard is that we’ve got to do something soon. We can’t wait. So that’s why we’re going to have this discussion on Thursday, to see if there’s any appetite for moving forward with something.”
A stairway leading to the west bleachers at Daylis Stadium is photographed on Tuesday. The concrete structure is deteriorating.
Built in 1929 on the Senior campus, multiple ideas and proposals have been brought to light over the years for how to enhance the deteriorating Daylis or do away with the stadium entirely in favor of a new facility somewhere else in Billings. None (such as a joint sports stadium at MetraPark or near Amend Park in recent years) have stuck.
The plan outlined Tuesday (not available in a digital format at press time), meanwhile, would keep Daylis around with major facelifts in and around the facility.
The concept (presented by Dusty Eaton, CEO of Billings-based firm A&E Design) included plans for a brand-new parking garage at Senior for use by students and spectators alike throughout the school day and during athletic events. After parking, those moving toward the stadium to attend events would be welcomed by what Eaton called a “gathering plaza” with a promenade at the entrance point on Daylis’ west side before going into the facility.
The stadium itself under the proposal would see the damaged and patchworked track (currently eight lanes) be replaced and expanded to 10 lanes, which would allow Daylis to host a state track meet under current MHSA guidelines. The turf would additionally be improved, as well.
Capacity would additionally be increased to 7,500 people (from “up to 6,000,” per a BPS release) with major improvements to grandstands — especially the concrete west stand, which is full of crumbling areas and sections — and press boxes part of the plan. Locker rooms on both sidelines would get beefed up, too, with teams at Senior, Skyview, and West all getting their own revamped, private sections underneath the west stands under the proposal.
Additional plans, such as ways to improve traffic flow and pedestrian circulation around Daylis and Senior throughout times of use were discussed, as well.
BPS Director of Athletics and Activities Mark Sulser led meeting attendees on a facility tour prior to the meeting, granting a firsthand look at the sometimes-dire conditions of Daylis which included mildewed and stained ceilings, corroded electrical systems and stories about mice infestations, among other alarming features.
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