"Right now, there's a lot of work going on, but it's all about digging holes and burying stuff," said Geoff Badenoch, director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, a partner in the stadium development with Play Ball Missoula. "If people are looking for what's happening, it's sort of hard to see."
Badenoch said Play Ball's contractor, Quality Construction, recently let $1.6 million in bids for water, sewer and electrical work on the stadium site on the south bank of the Clark Fork River, just west of McCormick Park.
"That's when it'll start to look a little like a stadium," Badenoch said.
The stadium, of course, has long occupied a place in the marketplace of ideas, but it's a more recent arrival in the real world. Construction has moved in fits and starts - mostly fits - but matters improved this summer, though not quite in time for the home team, the Missoula Osprey, to actually take the field this season. The stadium is expected to cost $10.2 million by the time it's finished.
The Osprey have been playing at the American Legion's Lindborg-Cregg Field while waiting for a permanent home.
Baseball promoters expect the field to be ready by opening day of the 2004 season, though it won't be completely finished.
"They'll be playing there," Badenoch said. "The Legion has made it clear that they can't come back to Lindborg-Cregg and nobody wants to do that. I think baseball will do well on the river, and I think the stadium will be a really vibrant part of the community."
Play Ball could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or 370-3330, and by e-mail at mmoore@missoulian.com
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