Philomath Frolic and Rodeo volunteer Alyssa Collins wasn’t yet on the board when a section of the arena’s grandstands caught fire just a few weeks before the July 2022 celebration. But as a lifelong community member who has a passion for the rodeo — she’s a past rodeo queen — it hit hard as a devastating piece of news.
“It was sad, you know, but we had hope that we’d be able to rebuild and move forward,” Collins said. “Being able to come onto the board and be an active participant of this progress and actually getting to see it go up now is incredible — it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
The first phase of the process — and it’s not just a rebuild but an upgrade and expansion — is underway at the rodeo grounds.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us but we’re seeing progress and that’s just an incredible feeling,” Collins said.
When rodeo fans enter the arena this summer, they will see a new premium seating section on the west side — complete with four to five rows of stadium seating closest to the action, metal bench-style seating above those and a handful of group box seats directly behind the bucking chutes. And up top, there will be a party deck complete with vendors selling beer and food along with a few tables and standing viewing areas.
For now, the other side of the arena will still have the current configuration with the old bench seats. Those sections will be a part of the project’s second phase.
The new section started going up last week and work continues. When finished, spectator capacity will increase by just under 1,200 seats, Philomath City Manager Chris Workman said.
“The most exciting thing is that this means more seating, which means we get to have more people come and enjoy the rodeo that we love putting on every year,” Collins said.
On a side note, no temporary bleachers will be brought in for this summer’s rodeo because of a lack of availability.
In addition to the grandstands addition, the first phase also includes a new announcer’s stand, lighting, restrooms and paved accessible parking.
The announcer’s stand will go up on the south end in the same general area as the current one. It will be a two-story structure that will also house the rodeo contestant office downstairs. Some work has been done with framing but the bulk of the construction should be starting next week, Workman said.
This week, work was planned for light poles to go up.
The foundation for the new restrooms went in — they will be located just outside the northeast side of the arena — with walls that should be going up soon. The restrooms will have six stalls each in the men’s and women’s sides.
“That will be plenty for most of the events that are held there — graduation parties, special events, PYAC baseball games,” Workman said. “For most things at the park, it’s going to be sufficient.”
For the larger events at Skirvin Park such as the rodeo during Frolic week, organizers will continue to bring in port-a-potties.
Workman represents the city through ongoing work with the contractor, Gerding Builders, and has also been coordinating with the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo’s Grandstand Project Committee.
“It really is a good partnership between the Frolic and the city and I’m uniquely positioned to have a little bit of insight into both organizations,” Workman said. “There’s probably some criticism in there … but I think on a project like this, you want to have both the interests of the city and the interests of the Frolic and Rodeo represented throughout the project.”
The Frolic and Rodeo has hopes of completing Phase 2 of the project next year.
“We’re continuing to work actively on grants and other avenues to raise money to be able to finish the project in its entirety,” Collins said. “The whole thing looks very seamless but we also understand the reality of the situation with the economy. People are holding onto their money rightfully so and we are still actively trying to find donors to be able to finish the project.”
If the financial challenges become too much, the project might have to be stretched out over more time.
“We don’t know how long that may take,” Collins said. “We’re hoping it’s not going to take years and years and years but you know, if it does, we’ll just wait until we’ve got the money.”
The project’s funding so far has come from a $1.9 million grant awarded in 2023 from the state (grandstands, lighting upgrade), an $850,000 grant from Oregon State Parks and Recreation (accessible parking, restrooms) and just under $200,000 in donations.
Workman said the Philomath City Council will be approached at next week’s meeting to reapprove a loan that the city will take out on behalf of the Frolic and Rodeo. To complete the first phase, it appears that another $200,000 or so is needed. The Frolic and Rodeo would pay back the loan in installments through proceeds from ticket sales.
Looking ahead to Phase 2, the Frolic and Rodeo’s grandstand committee plans to begin more capital campaigning and fundraising.
“The hope is that when people see the changes that we’ve made and they see the new grandstands, it’ll get some excitement going and get the buzz going and we’ll be able to get some more money towards the Phase 2 improvements,” Workman said. “Permits have been done, the design work’s been done and If we had a really big fundraising year this year and we can get $1.5 million, we’re ready to roll into Phase 2 as early as next year. It’s just a matter of having the funding in place.”
Collins and Workman both see the mix of old and new in the arena this summer as a positive.
“I think it will give people a better idea of what they can expect and where their money goes if they’re contributing,” Collins said.
A third phase of the project would then be planned for some point in the future. That involves the addition of grandstands on the northern curve, which when finished will create a horseshoe configuration around the arena.
“We also don’t want to build a huge arena that only gets three-quarters of the way full,” Workman said, adding that it makes sense to not add the north section until the Frolic sees consistent sellouts with what would already be in place through the first two phases. “So we figure over the next five, 10 years, we’d like to have all three phases in … we’ll build it up over time.”
As for this summer’s project, Frolic and Rodeo board members have some concerns over the timeline with the project running well into June. But Collins said the contractor has frequent meetings with the organization to provide updates, including one early this week.
“You know, knock on wood, everything is either right on track or even a little ahead of schedule for some things, which is great news,” Collins said. “But you know, there can always be things that can happen. Right now, we’re not anticipating that we’re going to run into any issues and everything will be wrapped up and done by the end of June.”
