The debt resulted from higher-than-expected construction costs and a lack of follow-through on the part of some donors, and has hampered completion of the home of the Missoula Osprey, a minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"It's not paid for, but it's not for lack of trying," said Wes Spiker, chairman of the nonprofit organization and the owner of Spiker Communications Inc.
Publicly, though, the companies say they continue to support Play Ball Missoula's project and are confident the money will eventually come through.
"We're very understanding. We'll work it out. I don't want to give a black eye to Play Ball," said Dave Zinke, general manager of JTL Group. The company is owed about $187,000 of the $422,000 debt.
"There is no point of contention. We're not mad at Play Ball," said Kevin Mytty, owner and manager of Quality Construction.
Last spring, the volunteer backers of Play Ball were caught in a crunch, said CEO Joe Easton. Money that had been pledged was not yet in hand. And the Diamondback organization did not want to wait another year to move into the downtown stadium.
Play Ball has raised more than $7 million. It needs about $3 million more to finish the stadium.
So Play Ball pushed on with construction, despite lacking some of the necessary funds, he said.
"The stadium would not have been built without Mytty and Quality (and the subcontractors). They carried the debt for a year," Easton said.
Of course, nothing about Play Ball's campaign to bring professional baseball to Missoula has been easy.
The early organizational and fundraising process that ended with the first pitch thrown in Play Ball Park last June was long and cantankerous.
In 1997 and 1998, Hal Fraser, a senior vice president at First Security Bank in Missoula, began to collect pledges for the stadium.
When Fraser reached the $1 million mark, a number of other wheels were set in motion. The owners of the Osprey baseball team committed to coming to Missoula, and public funds were committed in the form of $1 million of Missoula Redevelopment Agency money.
(Another $1 million of MRA money has since been committed to the project.)
But then a local group sued Play Ball to challenge the use of MRA money. And for more than two years, the fundraising effort stalled.
Play Ball, backed by a steadfast crew of volunteers, persevered. Fraser continued his low-key, one-on-one style of fundraising. The organization held galas and other formal fundraising events. And Play Ball volunteers continued to collect on pledges.
In the end, ballpark backers even took personal loans against future revenues at the park to the tune of about $1 million, Easton said.
Last year, "it was ... time. There was pressure to get the ballpark open," Easton said.
And the pressure is still there, said Matt Ellis, Osprey general manager.
"The bottom line is, we're not done and we're supposed to be," Ellis said.
But Ellis was sanguine. He focused on the Herculean efforts of the volunteer crew that raised millions from the community.
They're not done yet.
"We continue to collect on pledges," Easton said.
And the ballpark itself is generating revenue. Included in the cost of each ticket is a $1 fee that goes toward the construction fund. That raised about $80,000 last season.
What's more, the nonprofit continues to raise funds through private channels, Spiker said.
And Play Ball has been paying on its debts.
"Everybody's gotten something. We're working like the devil to get everyone paid," Spiker said.
At the end of the day, major projects such as building a minor league baseball stadium don't always go as planned.
"It's nobody's fault. I'm the new chairman. I want to get this doggone thing back on track," Spiker said.
The end of the tunnel on last year's debts is near, said all of those involved, although no one would hazard a timeline.
Spiker and others plan to reach out to the Missoula donor pool that has not been tapped yet, all those community-oriented people who aren't necessarily baseball nuts, he said.
"We're going to put on a big push this summer," Spiker said.
Organizers hope to have the bathrooms, concession stands and the rest of the basic infrastructure completed after the end of this season.
"We don't want to do anything new until we can pay for it," Spiker said.
Reporter Robert Struckman can be reached at 523-5262 or rstruckman@missoulian.com
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