The contest is over where to put a former tennis bubble that could be used for indoor sports practice and conditioning. The Missoula Strikers Soccer Club, which is bargaining to move the bubble from the bankrupt Missoula Athletic Club, wants to relocate it to Sentinel. Missoula County Public Schools officials would prefer it at Big Sky.
A handful of MCPS trustees offered a split decision at a committee meeting Tuesday evening. While all five favored a land-lease with the Strikers, there were strong arguments for both sites.
MCPS operations and maintenance director Gary Botchek said putting the 22,000-square-foot bubble at Sentinel would take up space now used for softball, freshman football and marching band practice. It might also require extensive reconstruction of water mains that irrigate the playing fields south of the high school. School district athletic directors preferred putting the bubble at Big Sky because it wouldn't crowd existing program space there.
Trustee Tom Orr replied that Big Sky's merits were immaterial.
“We've just heard that if we can't put it at Sentinel, this project is probably dead for the school district,” Orr said. “I think we should consider this and the first reason is partnership. This is an opportunity. Where we're seeing our budget cut and having a difficult time raising levies, here's an organization bringing us something that we both can use.”
Smith estimated it would cost about $300,000 to buy the bubble, lay a foundation for it, and install artificial turf. The club proposes raising that money and sharing use of the bubble with MCPS in return for no-cost land. The Strikers would rent the bubble to other athletic organizations to pay off its purchase.
Smith said there was a lot of interest in renting the facility for foul-weather training. But the Strikers were looking mainly for a place for their athletes to train, not to make a profit. The club's budget for the project worked only if it had as few extra costs as possible.
Trustees Drake Lemm and Rick Johns said they were concerned about how much of Sentinel's space would be lost to the bubble. But Trustee Toni Rehbein said this was a rare opportunity to add an all-weather practice area to a community that faces regular weather challenges. And Trustee Joe Toth observed that school programs tend to expand into whatever space is available.
The committee agreed to move the Sentinel option to the full school board, which meets March 11.
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