Powell County Fairgrounds MASTER PLAN

Cover Photo - David Clumpner Photography - Red Eye Daze Rodeo in Deer Lodge, Montana, https://www.davidclumpner.com/projects/montana-rodeo

Acknowledgments

OWNER TEAM

  • Powell County Commissioners and Planning Staff
  • Amanda Cooley - Powell County Planning Director

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

Lisa Bracco - Community Vitality and 4-H Youth Development

DESIGN TEAM

  • Ben Tintinger, AIA - Mosaic Architecture
  • David Land, PLA - Ayres Associates
  • Craig Stoffel, PLA - Ayres Associates
  • Maria Esker - Ayres Associates

STAKEHOLDERS

  • Community of Deer Lodge
  • Powell County Fair Board
  • Powell County Fairgrounds Board
  • Tri-County Fair and Rodeo
  • Montana State University Extension - Powell County (including 4-H and FFA)
  • Big Sky Draft Horse Expo
  • Kaehl Berg - Red Eye Rodeo
  • Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site Fairgrounds
  • Powell County Fairgrounds Groundskeeper

Master Plan Summary

The Powell County Fairgrounds is a truly incredible asset for the Deer Lodge Community and the entire region. The rich history and long-term community support of the Fairgrounds makes it ripe for a new vision and expanded use. The Master Plan project is the next great step in growing the Fairgrounds and its mission and developing a road map for the next hundred years.

The potential for the redevelopment of the fairgrounds area is enormous and is tied to both the region and the city of Deer Lodge. It’s location at the north entry to the Deer Lodge make it an important part of “main street” improvements as well as the importance to agricultural education and youth programs. This was readily apparent at the many public and stakeholder meetings and listening sessions conducted as part of the plan development. The community was clear that the Fairgrounds plays a vital role in making Deer Lodge a great place to live and are dedicated to defining the next great chapter in its long history.

The Powell County Commission engaged Mosaic Architecture and Ayres Associates Inc. in the fall of 2024 to listen to the community, facilitate stakeholder input, and help develop steps for realizing a vision for the fairground’s future. This work included inventory and study of all facilities and fairgrounds amenities to assess historical significance, reuse, improvements, and proposed project costs. The following report strives to document all stakeholder input, define the guiding principles and community goals, assess existing building use and potential, provide options for reuse and new uses, and provide a vision for the grounds, complete with site plans and renderings. We recognize the opportunity this process and project presents to grow the Fairground’s status and support in the community and region. This design process is not only critical to producing the ideal design solution, but also in growing support and “ownership” of the project with stakeholders.

It is important to recognize that the plans and images presented in this document are a long-term vision that will take years to realize. The Master Plan is a start in defining the needs and prioritizing projects that will be implemented over time. The Master Plan is a tool and a road map for fund raising, planning, expanding year-round use in a well conceived and cost-efficient manner. The Plan will invariably need to adapt and evolve over time as priorities and needs change. As such, it is recommended that the Master Plan be a working document that is accessible and used to help manage the Fairgrounds and that the overall vision be revisited every five years.

Recommendations & Priority List

It is important to recognize that the plans and images presented in this document are a long-term vision that will take years to realize. The Master Plan is a start in defining the needs and prioritizing projects that will be implemented over time. The Master Plan is a tool and a road map for fund raising, planning, expanding year-round use in a wellconceived and cost-efficient manner. The Plan will invariably need to adapt and evolve over time as priorities and needs change. As such, it is recommended that the Master Plan be a working document that is accessible and used to help manage the Fairgrounds and that the overall vision be revisited every five years.

1. Short Term Needs for 2025:

  • Provide temporary, raised, and shaded seating for summer events. This includes the use of existing bleachers (approx. 420 seats), and the purchase of additional bleacher seating (approx. 500 seats). Ideally these seats would be raised on a platform or mound to optimize viewing over the fence.
  • Replace the existing deteriorated Crow’s Nest which has numerous safety and accessibility issues.
  • Construct a new Crow’s Nest in such a way that it can be moved to a future permanent location.
  • Improve fencing to enhance safety and circulation of event participants and public.

2. New Grandstand Project: 2026

  • Finalize a building program and start planning and design for the new grandstands
  • Demolish the existing South Grandstands
  • Move the large and the small arenas (and associated fencing, pens, and shoots) to correspond to the master plan. This includes improved drainage and related site work (to be determined by the ongoing engineer’s drainage study)
  • Move the new Crow’s Nest to permanent location
  • Construct the New Grandstands (Phase 1) as defined by the grandstands design process (this includes ancillary spaces of restrooms, concessions, and ticketing)
  • Relocate the existing bleacher seating as finalized in the master plan.

3. Improved Entry and Parking: 2026 or 2027

  • Construct a new entry gateway from North Main Street.
  • Construct ‘public parking’ area at the south end of the grounds
  • Construct ‘event parking’ area at the north side of the grounds.
  • Reconstruct and expand the on-site camping area

4. Added Horse Stalls project: 200 stalls (including existing stalls)

  • Construct new pole barn type horse stalls as funding allows (80 stalls)
  • Provide area and panels for temporary horse stalls for particular events (50-90 stalls)

5. Extend the Blue Ribbon Pavilion:

  • Add a minimum of 50’ to the bays of the Blue Ribbon Pavilion on the west end to accommodate additional uses and events within the facility.
  • Improve the insulation systems to promote year-round use.
  • Improve the heating and ventilation systems to better accommodate year-round events.
  • Improve bleacher seating within the facility.

6. New Exhibit Hall: 20,000 sf minimum

  • Conduct a design process to define building program and plan for a new Exhibit Hall that could operate year-round.
  • Demolish the existing small animal arena and barn
  • Construct the new Exhibit Hall
  • Construct additional (new) animal stalls

7. Outdoor Music Venue:

  • Improve ‘The Yard’ area east of the Exhibit Hall for outdoor multi use.
  • Move existing Fairgrounds office building and grounds caretaker home to the far south side of the campus to increase the size of The Yard and allow for the development of the full master plan program.
  • As part of the Yard, include an area for stage setup and viewing for music events.

Vision

A community space that is flexible enough to attract a wide variety of events and entertainment for the benefit of the youth, Powell County residents, and visitors.

Mission

The mission of the Powell County Fairgrounds is to be a safe and functional space that serves and creates community, provides youth opportunities to connect with agriculture, and supports the local economy. This mission will be supported through the wise use of resources to meet community needs.

Guiding Principles

COMMUNITY

Create a fairgrounds campus that is welcoming, functional, and that supports the community. Success at the Fairgrounds springs from community initiative and buy-in, and supports residents, businesses, and visitors in a way that conveys our small-town values, priorities, pride and commitment to each other.

SAFETY

Create a safe and accessible fairgrounds campus that accommodates pedestrian fair goers, event participants, all animals, a variety of vehicles and transport trucks, and all associated equipment and facilities.

FUTURE VIABILITY

Develop multi-use spaces and places that are easily adaptable to support different kinds of events and uses throughout the year that can be professionally managed and administered through dedicated fairgrounds management.

ARCHITECTURE & ENVIRONMENT

Create a Fairgrounds that provides order and organization, function and ease of movement, intuitive and visual orientation and circulation in a welcoming and aesthetically appropriate architecture that enhances community identity.

Project Goals

COMMUNITY

  1. Envision a Fairgrounds that brings the community together. Bring Stakeholders to the planning table. Enhance the uses and events already established at the fairgrounds.
  2. Create spaces and facilities that provide new opportunities for use and events throughout the year.
  3. Provide opportunities for the community to sponsor, advertise, and grow their interests through use of the fairgrounds.
  4. Through design and function of the southern edge of the fairgrounds, enhance the entryway corridor into Deer Lodge to convey a sense of pride and offerings within the community.

SAFETY

  1. Separate fair goers from event participants in terms of crossover circulation of trucks and trailers, equipment and animals.
  2. Establish separated parking zones and spaces for fair goers and event participants, loading and unloading zones, and overnight camping.
  3. Provide for the safe movement of animals between trailers, organized pen areas and event areas.
  4. Increase the safety of pedestrian navigation to the fairgrounds from parking areas (including off-site parking) and within the campus.
  5. Shelter fair goers from the sun, wind and weather wherever possible.
  6. Establish safe, working equipment, fences, gates and pens throughout the grounds.
  7. Provide established storage areas for unused fixtures and equipment in order to keep the grounds clean and free of hazards to people and animals.
  8. Ensure the facilities are structurally and functionally safe throughout the grounds.
  9. Provide ample lighting as needed to support events as well as down times on the grounds to keep people and animals safe and discourage mischief on the fair campus.

FUTURE VIABILITY

  1. Create a new long-term solution for grandstands (#1 Priority) that includes a short-term seating solution for summer 2025-2026 events.
  2. Create new spaces and facilities to support year rounds events and uses.
  3. Create an operations, management and use structure that allows the fairgrounds to grow it’s revenue and better it’s facilities.
  4. Provide a dedicated management team tasked with operations, management, and maintenance of the grounds
  5. Commit to an ongoing maintenance schedule that provides for timely replacement of systems, materials and equipment.
  6. Establish a financial plan that includes fundraising strategies and generating sustainable event revenue to support the maintenance and growth of the fairgrounds. Maintain a volunteer group and paid staff to help implement the financial plan, assess needs and additional opportunities to generate revenue, and ensure ongoing financial viability.
  7. Provide flexibility in the design that allows for change as the fairgrounds evolves in the future.

ARCHITECTURE & ENVIRONMENT

  1. Create a new visible and obvious entry to the fairgrounds with good signage.
  2. Create a new long-term solution for grandstands (#1 Priority) that includes a short-term seating solution for summer 2025-2026 events.
  3. Provide well designed way finding signage throughout the grounds.
  4. Create a gateway to Deer Lodge. Provide visual interest (lines of sight, lighting, facilities, landscaping, etc.) into the grounds from the outside that invites fair goers and draws visitors to the downtown historic business district.. Through design and placement of fairgrounds facilities, walkways, gathering spaces and landscaping, enhance the festive atmosphere of a community event.
  5. Provide signage that indicates the happenings and dates to passersby the fairgrounds and promotes local food, beverage, and retail establishments.
  6. Create an architecturally appropriate theme that enhances community identity through color, materials, conformity, lighting, organization.

Grandstand and Arena Reconfiguration Plan

This move provides a strong formal entry point into the Fairgrounds which can be embellished for better branding and identity for the facility. Example Entry Branding: To develop this new campus entrance several things had to be considered and some impactful decisions needed to be made. While some adjustment would be required if the existing South Grandstand were to be retained and structurally stabilized, it was determined to be too cost prohibitive to save the south seating if it could only serve for a limited number of years and also limit opportunities for a new and improved campus layout. Since the community has decidedly “got their money’s worth” from the 100+ year old structure it was determined that it made more sense to explore a new grandstand.

Location of the new grandstand in the final campus plan moves the existing large arena to the north and west. The space between the old grandstands and the street is currently too narrow for proper road offsets and sidewalk development. Pushing the new grandstand east by 15-20 feet, along with the new entry alignment and added public parking, push the new bleacher location north by about 90’. Due to their direct relational connection to the bleacher the new location for the large arena and Crow's Nest will follow with the updated grandstand position. The Large arena will measure 200’x350’ as required by the annual Big Sky Draft Horse Expo.

Initial concept and workshop sessions

Next Steps

PHASING Grandstands:

The executive summary at the beginning of this report describes a potential roadmap for phasing the projects and improvements outlined in this report. As identified, the immediate, first phase project is the development of the grandstands due to its direct relationship to critical events happening in the coming year such as the Draft Horse Expo and fair related activities. These are important economic and cultural events for the community, and we heard from these groups and the public that grandstands are the priority.

The work to develop the grandstands is more complex than just purchasing an “off-the-shelf” grandstands system and setting it on the grounds. As described in this document, it is critical to place the grandstands in both the correct horizontal and vertical location on the site. There is currently a campus drainage study being conducted. This report should be referenced to assist in the vertical placement of the structure so that it works from a drainage standpoint, has the correct horizontal relationship to the street, and ADA routes from future parking to the grandstands and other site elements are planned into the location. Due to the critical nature of this placement, we recommend that a site grading and drainage plan be developed as part of the grandstands work to ensure that it is sited correctly so that proper pedestrian, vehicular and maintenance circulation can be provided in this phase and subsequent phases. The grandstands have a direct relationship with the large arena, the crow’s nest, and other campus elements. Any site studies should consider and address the future development of these improvements. It will also be necessary to consider vertical and horizontal relationships to future proposed campus improvements such as, parking, the pedestrian promenade, and the visitor entry alignment with the Grant-Kohrs entry.

The placement of the grandstand structure will set the stage for all future development to follow, and we cannot understate the importance of proper scoping, planning, and engineering for this critical first step in the plan.

Credits:

Mosaic Architecture & Ayres Associates