A site south of Kalispell has been selected for Flathead County’s multi-use recreational facility, allowing business and design plans to move full steam ahead.

Davar, Vicki and Todd Gardner are donating 10 to 20 acres of land to the county, depending on how much acreage will be needed for the project, according to county Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher.

The property is located off Lower Valley Road east of the KGEZ radio station.

The Lantern Corp. has been hired to complete a business plan for the gymnasium facility that will detail the economic impact, projected use and income from the facility. CTA Architects Engineers will do the design work. Money for the planning was budgeted in the Parks and Recreation Department’s capital improvement plan, Fisher said.

“By the end of July the commissioners and the public will know what it will look like and what the business plan will be,” he said.

The commissioners have set aside $1.5 million for the facility from the county’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes allocations from the federal government. Another $300,000 has been saved within the Parks and Recreation Department. The rest of the money will be raised privately.

The facility is expected to cost more than $3.5 million, but that number is subject to change, depending on how elaborately the site is built out. Groups wanting to use the facility would get involved with their own fundraising, Fisher said, citing examples of hockey groups wanting an indoor ice rink or baseball organizations wanting batting cages or other outdoor facilities.

“It’s huge,” Fisher said. “So many people have stepped forward, from the home-school associations to others who have [recreational] needs.

“It’s an economic boom for this valley, traveling teams coming in and staying here,” Fisher continued.

Three years ago, Fisher began urging the commissioners to consider a self-sustaining athletic facility because of a diminishing amount of gymnasium space. He said the county’s adult and youth recreation programs are in “serious jeopardy” because of a lack of gym space at schools.

A Gym Advisory Committee has been meeting monthly to pursue the project. Several organizations, such as area Rotary clubs, have expressed interest in the project.

The county’s youth and adult recreation programs serve well over 3,000 county residents annually. Basketball, volleyball, T-ball and flag football are offered to children, while adults can tap into basketball, flag football and softball leagues.

Once constructed, the athletic facility will be self-sustaining, Fisher said. It would be pay to play.

The county gets about $160,000 a year from user fees from sports programs.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com