ADLC awarded $2.75M winter tourism grant

Grant will mean a new hockey rink and sled hill for ADLC, plus upgrades at Kennedy Common

Summer's just started and it's already heating up with tourists arriving and summertime events about to get rolling, but right now Anaconda-Deer Lodge County has winter on its mind as ADLC is celebrating the awarding of a $2.75 million grant from the Montana Department of Commerce's Pilot Community Tourism Grant Project to expand the community's winter recreation opportunities. 

The grant, which was established at the 2023 Montana Legislature and comes with no matching funds required, is for projects to improve the local economy and vibrancy of the communities that received the award but "without compromising the qualities that make the community so special," the pilot program's intake form states. 

In ADLC's case, it will mean funding for upgrades to Kennedy Common for year-round events, especially a cooling system so it can have more consistent ice for skating during the winter. It will also pay for adding a trailhead, trail markers and interpretive signs for Anaconda's trail sytem and trail markers and solar lighting for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails at the Old Works Golf Course.

The big items though will be two new facilities, the first being a hockey rink that could host hockey tournaments as well as other ice-related events like curling and skating competitions in the winter and, in warm weather, serve as a roller rink or pickleball or tennis courts, while the second facility will be a tubing hill complete with "Magic Carpet" lift.

ADLC Chief Executive Bill Everett announced on Tuesday that the Montana Department of Commerce had chosen Anaconda on Monday for one of the seven grants that had been awarded by the new pilot program. The grant applications were competitive, with one award per region within the state. Dillon, Butte and Townsend had been among the cities looking to obtain the grant in Anaconda's region, Everett said.

"One thing we really want to do is provide only summer recreation for kids to enjoy, but also winter tourism. Occupation levels [at local accommodations] are much lower in the winter. Hockey tournaments will be a heck of a draw, and it's something for our own residents to enjoy," Everett said. "Hockey rinks are self-funding. It won't drain resources from our local government."

Now that the funding is in place, the next step will be the specifics of the projects, particularly where the rink and sled hill would be. 

"We're going to be spending the next six months gathering community input," Everett said. "The initial thoughts are having it toward The Forge and Murdoch's area due to the fact that it'll be occupied late into the evening, and with the noise as well we don't want it in a residential area."

As for a timeline now that ADLC has received the grant, work could begin with Kennedy Common and the tubing hill in 2024, trails along with hockey rink construction in 2025, 2026 and 2027, and final completion of the project in 2028. 

The grant-funded projects were identified as needs by a steering committee that formed this past winter when the ADLC Commission agreed to apply for the grant. The committee was comprised of officials in local government and economic development and tourism agencies, community organizations, business owners and others. It included Everett as well as other ADLC offiicals – Parks and Recreation Director Joe Ungaretti, Planning Director Carl Hamming and Executive Assistant Heather Edwards – as well as Old Works Golf Course General Manager Todd Lupkes, Forge Hotel Manager and Barclay II owner Tammy Mattson, Discovery Ski Hill owner Ciche Pitcher, Pintler's Portal Hostel owner Steve Hill, Joe Romero with the Smelter City Receation Complex, Robin McKernan with the Anaconda Trail Society, Mary Johnston formerly of Discover Anaconda, Kathleen Tarkalson with Discover Anaconda and business owner Mike Johnson, and the grant application was completed by Lorraine H. Roach with the Hingston Roach Group.

"It was a great team effort. I appreciate everyone's effort. It's another cool thing coming to Anaconda," Everett said. "We want to have the community involved here and get people to have their say. Hopefully this will help our hotels and restaurants, and the most important thing is it's another resource for our community and our kids to enjoy."