During their Nov. 4 meeting, City Commissioners will be asked to approve $425,000 to the Great Falls Baseball Club/Enbar for two infrastructure projects at Voyagers Stadium.

The funding is nearly the entirety of available park district funds available for the Park and Recreation Department annually for projects and will require commissioners to approve a budget amendment since it wasn’t included in the budget they approved over the summer.

City Commissioners approve budget, intent to increase property taxes

The city owns the stadium and has leased it to the Great Falls Baseball Club since 1999. The Enbar ownership group bought the Voyagers last year.

Under the lease, the Voyagers rent is $12,884.08 annually for 2026-2030.

On Oct. 7, the Voyagers formally submitted their funding request during a commission work session for:

• $250,000: concrete repair and box seat replacement: the concrete throughout the stadium has significantly deteriorated, and the supporting structures for the box seating are in a similar state of disrepair
• $175,000: safety netting replacement: the existing safety netting behind home plate is original to the stadium and, despite numerous repairs over the years, no longer meets modern safety standards. Replacing the current netting with a modern, durable system will enhance the safety and experience for all attendees, including those attending Legion and high school baseball events.

According to city staff, the Voyager’s funding request is an eligible use of park maintenance district funds as identified through a provision in the resolution creating the district that states: “the general character of the items to be maintained/improved includes but is not limited to: native and turf grasses, trees, shrubs, and other vegetation, lighting, restrooms, irrigation systems, irrigation system water services, drainage ways, groundwater drains, storm water facilities, weed and pest control, equipment, tools, vehicles, fences, recreation facilities and equipment, parking lots, support facilities, signage, trails, pathways, sidewalks, public amenities, public easements and/or other public improvements maintained and/or under the responsibility of the city park and recreation department.”

City Commission takes first look at proposed budget

Existing park maintenance district projects “would need to be reprioritized,” according to the staff report for the Oct. 21 meeting.

The following projects were presented as part of the Park and Rec budget during the Aug. 5 commission meeting.

The city is using the park district funds to pay debt service on the new aquatic center, which is $702,164 in the current budget, leaving less available funding for parks projects annually.

The aquatic center had a deficit of $413,560 as of Sept. 30.

The district is a special assessment that voters approved in 2018 and the city has assessed $1.5 million under the district every year. The district lasts for 20 years and commissioners could change the assessment amount during the budget process but have not done so yet.

City leaf pickup, tree removal continuing with low staffing, limited resources

The park maintenance district grew out of the 2016 park master plan that identified more than $12.6 million in deferred maintenance and other needs.

During the Oct. 7 commission work session, City Manager Greg Doyon said the city has had a longstanding relationship with the Voyagers and the “stadium has had a lot of needs over the years.”

The city has contributed significant funding to various projects in and around the stadium, according to city staff and documents, over the years to include:

• December 2022: $600,000 of ARPA funds for Centene Stadium field repair, funds will be used to make repairs to the playing surface. This will ensure the ongoing viability of a facility that is used by professional, amateur, and local school teams. Also, maintains a valuable tourism draw and local business partner in the Great Falls community.
• 2015: $216,800.95 for a pedestrian bridge on 25th Street North, serving the area, as well as the stadium
• 2012: $86,914 for Centene Park landscaping 
• February 2010: the city contributed $354,000 toward the stadium
• June 2003: $436,000, including some CDBG funds, to address railings, ADA, patio work
• 2002: the city issued a $1 million bond for various recreation projects, including $400,000 toward the stadium

In 2020, the Voyagers asked for rent forgiveness due to the pandemic since their season was canceled. Commissioners denied the request.

Park and Rec hosting Ice Breaker logo contest after cutting external design contract

Doyon said that discussions about the infrastructure projects had probably started in 2021 and former Park and Rec director Steve Herrig had been in discussions with the Voyagers in the spring about using park district funds for stadium repairs, but staff had been delaying using those funds as they were in the first year of operating the Aim High Big Sky indoor aquatics center.

In an April 30 email, sent at 3:49 p.m., Herrig wrote to Scott Reasoner, general manager of the Voyagers and part of the new ownership group: “We are moving forward with this project as a park district project, but won’t really have approval until the FY26 budget is approved. Please coordinate with Kevin Vining, our parks manager as today will be my last day with the city.”

During an Oct. 22 candidate forum hosted by The Electric, candidates were asked about the fiscal responsibility of funding the Voyagers stadium repairs, based on a reader submitted question.

City names new deputy manager; hiring for GFFR chief, Park and Rec director

Commissioner Joe McKenney and Mayor Cory Reeves said they couldn’t comment since it was on their Nov. 4 agenda, but made comments.

McKenney said he’d only recently learned that the city owns the stadium and “the stadium is falling apart. If the Voyagers go away, what the hell are we going to do with a dilapidated stadium?”

Reeves said that when the new owners bought the Voyagers, they did so “with the understanding that the City Commission would update some of those projects” based on conversations with the previous Park and Rec director.

“Deals were made without our authorization. To do the right thing, because the park will have to be condemned. If we don’t do this, it’s gonna close, we will not have a baseball stadium, we will not have a baseball team, so we need to move forward,” Reeves said.

City Commission to consider consultant contract for Park and Rec review

Doyon said during the Oct. 7 commission work session that with changes in Park and Rec leadership and priorities, the Voyagers’ request was left out and the group needed to make a formal presentation to the commission to request funding.

“There is funding available,” Doyon said, but it “will potentially defer projects down the road.”

Doyon said during the Oct. 7 meeting that approving the funding for the Voyagers wouldn’t delay the project planned for this budget year.

He said he asked if the Voyagers were able to to contribute, but “I think they’re in a little bit of a deficit,” and that’s why they were asking for city funding.

The conversation highlighted, Doyon said, that “we need a new lease agreement with the ball club.”

City accepting bids for sale of former Rec Center

Doyon said they need to do some sort of assessment for the stadium facility since they’ve heard it’s a community asset but don’t have an agreed upon capital improvement plan.

He said the city could consider selling the property to the ball club since if it were to leave, the “city could not run that facility. It just couldn’t with everything on its plate right now.”

Scott Reasoner, Voyagers general manager, said the ballpark “just got old” and the club is responsible for maintenance, the field and operations, with the city having a history of helping with capital improvements.

Toby’s House purchases property, withdraws request for city parkland

He said costs have skyrocketed, to a point that he said he told his ownership group “we were stupid for doing it” from a business standpoint. “If we could get a couple dollars above even, we’d call it a great success for our community.”

Reasoner said that since the Enbar group assumed ownership, they are no longer charging other groups, such as Legion baseball to use the facility.

The lease agreement from 1999, states that Legion baseball’s use of the facility was condition on them paying a portion of operational costs, which the year the lease was signed was $2,500, increasing as the Voyagers’ rent increased.

Reasoner said during the Oct. 7 work session that they’d offered the stadium to Great Falls Public Schools for free if the new high school baseball program moved forward.

In response to a question from The Electric about the possible lease violations regarding community groups, specifically Legion baseball, using the ballpark for free, Doyon said, “I believe you’re referencing Covenants of the Club, Item #12. The Club offered the field to the school district for free to comply with Title 9 provisions. This offer is being reviewed by the school district (as I understand it). Technically this could be a violation of the current lease, but in the spirit of encouraging baseball/softball sports in the community, they are trying to help out the school district.”

City Commission discusses annual goals

GFPS has said in multiple public meetings and interviews with The Electric that using Voyagers Stadium for the new high school baseball program is not an option as it would be a Title 9 violation in terms of the equity of facilities.

The Electric reported in January that Lance Boyd, assistant GFPS superintendent, said the district would not be using Voyagers stadium for high school baseball and that that they were working on agreements with Electric City Baseball for use of Don Olson and Cash Warren fields.

After the Oct. 7 city discussion about Voyagers Stadium, The Electric confirmed with Boyd that the district was not considering using the stadium for high school baseball.

City fundraising to replace dead, diseased trees in Gibson; discussing funding for natural resources division [2024]

Taking Voyagers Stadium off the table due to Title 9 issues was also reported by The Electric in July and August of 2024.

Reasoner said during the Oct. 7 work session that there were just under 100,000 total visitors at the stadium last year for events and that they planned to keep it affordable.

Of the infrastructure projects the Voyagers are requesting funding for, Reasoner said the concrete is original to the stadium and the seats were donated from Dodgers stadium since Great Falls was their affiliate at the time and they’re now about 60 years old.

He said they can’t get replacement parts anymore and are welding patchwork pieces when entire rows collapse.

City provides quarterly budget review, financial position [2024]

Reasoner said the funding would also allow the stadium to be brought into compliance with city code since currently, steps are mismatched and different sizes.

The safety netting is “crumbling” and “flapping about,” he said, with similar systems no longer produced.

Reasoner said that if the backstop fell apart in April or May, “we don’t know how we would fix it.”

Commissioner Susan Wolff said during the Oct. 7 work session that she was “quite dismayed” at the state of the concrete.

Commissioner Joe McKenney said that he was in favor of funding the stadium project.

Worst case scenario, he said, was that the Voyagers leave and then the city has an unused stadium on parkland.

“What are we going to do with it? That would be a disaster,” McKenney said, and that he’s open to selling the facility to the ball club.

Commissioner Rick Tryon said that the safety issues at the ballpark were litigation waiting to happen but funding the stadium repairs would likely delay another park district project and that it would be helpful to know what they were sacrificing in other parks for the repairs.

Commissioner Shannon Wilson said, “I have a lot of mixed feelings about this.”

Park and Rec improvements underway, through park district, grants, CDBG funds [2019]

She said park maintenance district funds were meant for city parks that were free and open to the public.

“I would like to see how it’s going to affect what is meant for truly public use,” Wilson said, and that she loves the stadium and wasn’t opposed to the project, but wanted to see how it would affect public spaces.

On Oct. 9, The Electric asked the following questions to Doyon and interim Park and Rec director Jessica Compton.

Greg, Jessica, I’m reading through a copy of the actual lease for baseball stadium and wondering if some of these provisions are being met.

Greg, I know you mentioned the other night that the lease likely needs review, but wanted to check some details based on the current arrangement.

Specifically, has the baseball club been making the required amount of annual improvements to the park, or the $25,000 over a 10-year period? Was the $1 million worth of improvements made by 2007? (I’m going through minutes to try gathering that info but it’s a bit muddy from documents I’ve found so far). Does it count as the ball club making those improvements if the city contributed the funding?

I see in here requirements for Legion baseball to pay for use of the stadium, but Scott mentioned the other night that they were allowing Legion and other users to use the ballpark for free, is that a violation of the lease agreement or agreed upon by the city?

Have city staff and the baseball club been meeting annually to discuss needed repairs/renovations and approving advertising at the stadium?

Has the city requested and/or received financials from the ball club in recent years?

I’m trying to do the math, but to make sure I don’t screw it up, what’s their current rent?

City staff said they were working on responses but were waiting on Doyon.

On Oct. 17, The Electric sent a follow-up and offered to submit a records request if needed.

On Oct. 20, Doyon responded that he’d been out of the office for the past couple weeks and to submit a records request since the request would likely require research by the city clerk.

“They are good questions, and I don’t have the info readily available to provide you a response solid response off the top of my head. I’ll copy her, Scott, and Jessica to get the ball rolling,” Doyon wrote.

On Nov. 3, The Electric received a response to the questions from Doyon.

“Unfortunately, the information you requested was not readily available.  The former P&R Director may have been able to respond more quickly/knowledgeably, as he had more interactions with the Voyagers during his tenure. Even so, the Voyagers are under different ownership now and have been under different managers during the timeframe of the agreement. Aside from going through [city commission] minutes in detail, I’ve had to rely primarily on Scott Reasoner and the limited records I could find regarding improvements over the term of the current lease.

Question #1: Specifically, has the baseball club been making the required amount of annual improvements to the park, or the $25,000 over a 10-year period? Was the $1 million worth of improvements made by 2007? (I’m going through minutes to try gathering that info but it’s a bit muddy from documents I’ve found so far). Does it count as the ball club making those improvements if the city contributed the funding?

The lease commences in April 1999.  The term of the lease is 50 years through March 2049.  

According to the spreadsheet provided by the Voyagers, it appears that between 1999 and 2009 (ten years) the amount of improvements totaled $523,158.  From April 1999 to 2007, total improvements totaled $482,730.  In speaking with Scott Reasoner, he shared that there was a significant renovation in 2000 of over $1.4 million (façade and other areas).  He believes the ball clubs (former owners) met that obligation per the lease.   

Furthermore, you correctly note that the City contributed financially or maybe even in-kind to some of these projects.  I do not have a quick way of researching which projects were the Baseball Club based, or City based or combined financial efforts. However, Scott advised me that the Voyager’s investment summary attached and does not include city contributions.”

Voyagers reports of stadium improvements, as provided to The Electric by the city as part of the information request:

GF Voyagers Stadium Improvement List

Copy of Report_from_Great_Falls_Baseball_Club_Inc_

Copy of Report_from_Great_Falls_Baseball_Club_Inc. 2

Copy of Report_from_Great_Falls_Baseball_Club_Inc. 3

Copy of Report_from_Great_Falls_Baseball_Club_Inc. 4

Question #3: Have city staff and the baseball club been meeting annually to discuss needed repairs/renovations and approving advertising at the stadium?

 I am not aware that staff met every March (per the lease) to evaluate needed repairs, but I do know that the Baseball Club has been engaged with P&R, the City Manager’s Office, and the Commission since I have been in the position.    

 Question #4: Has the city requested and/or received financials from the ball club in recent years?  

 No.