Memorial Field fundraising set to kick off

SANDPOINT — Planning is heating up for the future of Memorial Field.

With a grandstand design officially approved by the Sandpoint City Council, local advocacy group The Friends of Memorial Field are escalating their plans for fundraising. The nonprofit has contracted a Spokane consulting firm to organize a capital campaign to be launched in earnest next year.

According to Lisa Hals, Lake Pend Oreille School District business manager and district representative for the Friends of Memorial Field, a nonprofit representative will likely be visiting the school board — likely around December — in the hopes of gaining official support and a potential financial commitment to the project.

As the most frequent user of the city-owned Memorial Field and its grandstands for high school sports events, the school district is a major stakeholder in the future of the field.

Hals encouraged trustees to put in their homework and examine all options before committing officially to any direction.

“Overall, you need to ask what’s the best option for both the school district and the community,” Hals said. “You need to be sensitive to their needs but also to the district’s needs.”   

One alternate path includes pursuing a district-owned field and stadium, Hals said. Potential options along those lines include purchasing additional real estate and constructing new facilities, buying Memorial Field itself from the city or repurposing district-owned property for a field or grandstand. The only district property likely suited for that task houses Sandpoint Middle School, which would consequently need to be demolished, Hals added.

While these are all possible options to be examined, it’s up to trustees to determine the best option for the district, its finances and the community, Hals said. Trustees offered no immediate preferences following the report.

While the district examines its options, work continues on fundraising the $1.2 million for the new Memorial Field grandstands. The city approved a final design in August, which will house between 1,200 and 1,500 guests — an up-to-67-percent increase.