Foundation work being completed for Teeters concession stand

KELLOGG –– The iconic football field in the middle of Shoshone County’s largest city is getting a few upgrades.

Folks may have noticed that for the past few weeks crews have been busy pouring what appears to be a big concrete block right in the middle of the western-most section of seats. That new slab is going to be the site of the field’s new concession stand, restroom facilities, and handicap accessible seating.

City of Kellogg special projects manager Rod Plank explained the process that the city has followed up to this point as well as what the future holds for the project.

Teeters Field is owned by the city, but the high school handles much of the field’s management through a cooperative agreement between both entities.

According to Plank, the Idaho High School Activities Association, the governing body for all public high school athletics in the state, informed the school district and city a few years ago that their current cement and cinder block concession building was too close to the back end of the western endzone of the football field and could pose a safety threat to a player.

The current structure also houses two small restroom facilities, although they routinely are taped off for being out of order and have prompted the city and school to utilize portable toilets placed in strategic locations around the outside of the facility.

Kellogg mayor Mac Pooler said he can remember the stand being in that location during his time in Wildcat purple and gold in the late 50s, meaning that the current building was likely constructed after the old wooden grandstands were burned to the ground by an arsonist.

When they were rebuilt (in their current location), the concession stand was built where a section of the stands used to sit.

In 2020, the city put the project out for bid but only received one bid which came in roughly $80,000 above where it was estimated – $235,000 for the proposed new structure and supporting facilities.

“We didn’t have the money to do anything about it at that time, so when we saw that figure and knew that we didn’t have that kind of money we put it on the back burner,” Plank explained.

Fast forward a few years and the city decided to revisit the project and get an updated bid – where costs have increased – the city realized that they were in a worse position than before.

City officials knew they needed to address the situation so they began talking to folks throughout the area, including community member Tony Silva, owner of concrete company Procrete.

Silva came to the city and offered to donate some of the work to get the project started.

“Obviously we accepted his offering,” Plank said. “With that, we more or less let him design the solution to get the project going for our new concession stand.”

After the foundation is completed, the city is still figuring out what they want in terms of the building itself.

“We don’t have a final plan or picture in mind for the design of the building that’s going to sit on this pad,” Plank said.

However, Pooler explained that the hope is to have the concession area sit in the middle, with a men’s room on one side and a lady’s room on the other.

Fundraising efforts have been underway for the building including a recent spaghetti dinner that raised $8,000 toward the construction.

Plank said that the plan is to have the project finished before football games start happening at Teeters this fall – including a dedication to the late Craig Lewis, a former city superintendent, Kellogg athlete, football coach and Wildcat athletic supporter.