Getting the pieces together

KELLOGG –– It’s more questions than answers for everyone involved in the concession stand project at Teeters Field.

While football season is already well underway, the first home game of the season for the Kellogg Wildcats is Friday evening and many patrons are wondering what happened to the city’s promise to have the new concession stand completed at the iconic venue by opening night.

Teeters Field is owned by the City of Kellogg – but allows the schools to use it at their discretion.

The how-we-got-here portion of this story is quite lengthy, but it explains how the city got to this point and what they’re doing to try and rectify it.

According to City of Kellogg Special projects manager Rod Plank, a few years ago the Idaho High School Activities Association told the city that the old concession stand and restroom facility on the west end of the field had to be removed due to its proximity to the football field.

That prompted the city’s officials to begin exploring their options for building a new snack shack.

In 2020 the city put the project out for bid and only received a single one back – to the tune of $235,000, about $80,000 higher than anticipated.

Plank explained that for what they were looking for, that bid was entirely out of the question and so they decided to put the project on hold.

“Because that initial bid we got was beyond our financial capabilities we decided to wait a year and try again,” Plank said. “We got some new bids, but they only escalated that price – This forced us to mothball it for the time being.”

The plan was for a simple metal structure that would house concessions and restrooms, while also remaining handicap-accessible.

This would be built on the western-most section of bleachers, which had historically been ignored by fans when it came to finding a seat at the venue. It was also determined that the concrete in that section needed to be replaced in order to make the steps of the facility safe for use. Local concrete contractor Tony Silva volunteered some of his services to the city and poured a nice new pad for the new concession stand, as well as a smaller section of concrete to make a handicap-accessible landing spot at the top of one of the middle, covered sections of the stands.

Since that was completed in June, no other work has been done regarding the concession stand.

This has caused some frustration from the Kellogg High School patrons, including city residents, parents of athletes, and alumni – many of whom are aware that over $160,000 has been contributed to the project from the Kellogg School District, Shoshone County, and generous donors.

Plank explained to the News-Press on Thursday that based upon the foundation that was laid, the blueprints for the structure had to be changed – The city had been waiting on those changed plans for sometime, but Plank did say that they had been received earlier this week.

Instead of a simple metal building, the project now calls for custom trusses and other milled lumber in order to be completed.

With the plans in hand, the city now has to find the materials for the build.

“Because it’s a public-use building, it has to adhere to very specific construction rules,” Plank said.

Reportedly, local companies Kellogg Lumber and Whiteman’s Lumber have stepped up to assist with the materials, and other parts of the project have either been donated, or at least pledged their future service.

Plank also admitted that right now, with supply chains in flux, that the total cost of the project is unknown – and likely wouldn’t be until close to the project’s conclusion.

When that conclusion will be, that’s another question to which Plank and the city don’t currently have an answer for.

“Nobody wants to see this get done more than us,” Plank said. “But money isn’t going to solve the problem of getting it done faster – we still have to get all of the pieces together. We’re going to move as quickly as we can to get it finished, we just don’t know when that’s going to be.”