$90,000 raised for grandstands

After a fire destroyed the grandstands at the Columbia Falls baseball stadium in June, the focus has been rebuilding.

Nearly $90,000 has been donated to rebuild the grandstands since. Donations include small donations by individuals to large donations from area businesses. Glacier Restaurant Group and the Foley Family Charitable Foundation donated $25,000 to help rebuild the bleachers, collected in proceeds from restaurants in Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Bigfork during Restaurant Industry Night for the Grandstands on August 5.

Ray Queen, president of the Glacier Babe Ruth League, said a little more than $10,000 is needed to reach the league’s fundraising goal for the grandstands.

“It’s been really amazing to see how giving people have been,” Queen told the Daily Inter Lake. “It shows what happens when you gain the trust of a community.”

The grandstands at Sapa-Johnsrud Babe Ruth Fields in Columbia Falls burned on June 27 after a fire started in a trash can beneath the bleachers, resulting in a total loss of a classic feature of the ballpark. The Columbia Falls Police Department still has not determined what caused the initial fire.