Grizzly sports complex is conveniently situated close to Colchester Free Will Baptist Church and Sherwood Forest Park and Recreation Area, providing several facilities such as an indoor practice facility, training center, and two-story athletics building.
Missoula’s intercollegiate athletic department contributes significantly to Missoula’s economy by creating jobs that would otherwise not exist.
Indoor Practice Facility
The University of Montana will soon add to its sports complex with the construction of a 110,000-square-foot indoor practice facility for football, soccer, and track teams – the first facility of this kind in Big Sky Conference and covered by an inflatable bubble to cover lousy weather conditions. This project is entirely funded with private donations – no student tuition or state taxpayer dollars will be used towards its creation.
This facility will feature a full-sized synthetic football field and four 150-yard synthetic sprint spring lanes to accommodate track athletes, two long jump pits, two pole vault pits, and an area for throwing hammers, weapons, and discus. Furthermore, winter practices for both football and softball teams will be accommodated, along with permanent structures housing electrical equipment, restrooms, and pressurizing the bubble.
It will serve both the University of Montana intermural and club sports teams and the Missoula community at large, as well as youth organizations that sponsor recreational basketball, cheer/dance, or flag football activities.
At the center of the complex is a two-story Grizzly Athletics Building, which will include team locker rooms, weight rooms, athletic training facilities, and coaches’ offices, as well as academic resource spaces and hospitality suites for visiting fans.
The Grizzly Sports Complex provides several youth sports programs for both recreational and competitive flag football and soccer teams. Managed by The Grizzly Den, an organization focused on youth development through sport, these sports programs offer children safe, enjoyable environments for them to develop fundamental skills as well as enjoyably build self-confidence and social interactions.
At The Grizzly Den, our professional staff adhere to high standards and receive regular training to provide our children with the highest level of care possible. In addition to The Grizzly Den itself, our partner experts include nutritionists, personal trainers, strength and conditioning specialists, and therapists whose goal is to help every child reach their full potential by offering physical and mental challenges that promote healthier lifestyles.
Outdoor Practice Facility
Winter practices for Grizzly teams take place on a regulation-size synthetic turf football field and four 150-yard sprint lanes, two long jump pits, two pole vault bars, as well as hammer, javelin, discus, and shot put areas. Additionally, this facility houses training rooms, coaches and administrative offices, team meeting rooms, and hospitality suites, with the two-story Grizzly Athletics Building at its heart.
Outdoor facilities at Montana State are among the finest in the Big Sky Conference, hosting football, men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, and cross-country teams, as well as camps and scrimmages throughout summer camps and scrimmages. Football matches at Washington-Grizzly Stadium (capacity 25,217) take place each autumn while Dahlberg Arena hosts basketball games for Dahlberg Bulldogs or hockey games are hosted on their course – offering year-round action!
Grizzly Athletics contributes to Missoula’s local economy in many ways, from increasing enrollment at the university to hosting events that draw outsiders to its events. A recent study concluded that its impact exceeded its annual expenditures of $22.9 million; its payroll and vendor spending support numerous businesses throughout Missoula.
UM’s swimming and diving team competes at the Grizzly Pool located near Adams Center on campus’ north end. Open to both students and community members for pay-per-use use, the Grizzly Pool features lap swims, adult coached swims, and American Red Cross first aid/CPR/AED certification lessons, as well as squash/racquetball/handball courts, locker rooms with dry saunas and recreational swim areas – perfect for school competition!
In 2008, Washington-Grizzly Stadium underwent an expansion, adding 375 Grizzly Scholarship Association priority seats and 1,150 non-priority seating capacity. A SprinTurf playing surface was also installed during this time – all funded through a gift from Missoula businessman Dennis R. Washington’s company, Washington Corporations.
Grizzly Athletics Building
In 2008, the first phase of expansion at Grizzly Sports Complex was completed. A new SprinTurf playing surface and an additional 375 priority seats for Washington-Grizzly Stadium increased capacity to 25,217%, and a GrizVision jumbotron featuring HD video was installed with double its previous size display.
Cushing Terrell provided comprehensive design services for the 52,000-sf Grizzly Athletics Building at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Montana. This 52,000 sq ft facility serves both University of Montana student-athletes and the general campus community, featuring state-of-the-art weight rooms, nutrition stations and sprint tracks, football locker rooms, team meeting spaces, and a ’95 National Championship room – seamlessly integrating into Adams Center, Dahlberg Arena, and outdoor stadium concourse layout.
University of Montana Athletic Department was a significant contributor to local economies during the academic year 2014-15, with its $22.9 million budget supporting numerous jobs throughout Montana’s economy – from direct spending by visitors attending athletic events to payroll and vendor purchases for its department to indirect benefits in terms of increased income levels and consumer demand in other less directly related industries.
Retail trade industry employers provide 116 jobs due to visitor spending at the University of Montana athletic events, while accommodations and food service workers account for an additional 152 positions resulting from overall economic expansion due to Grizzly Athletics’ presence in Missoula. Furthermore, construction maintenance activities at Grizzly Athletics create 75 permanent employment positions with Missoula construction employers.
Missoula boasts 81 jobs supporting professional services industry employers due to salaries and indirect expenditures from student-athletes who call Missoula home, 83 public school education workers due to increases in student enrollment, 84 government services industry employers due to population increases and tax capacity growth within local government sector; while the additional 122 healthcare-related occupations support by their incomes or consumer demand in these sectors.
Parking
Washington-Grizzly Stadium at the University of Montana is one of Montana football’s loudest and rowdiest venues, located smack dab in the middle of campus at Mount Sentinel’s base and with limited room to spare, making for an exhilarating atmosphere throughout both arena and campus. Griz fans don’t limit their fandom either: new motorhomes, as well as old city buses, can often be found parked along campus with banners, flags, hats and shirts decorated for game day!
Washington-Grizzly Stadium can be reached in various ways for events, with fans often making use of the free Grizzly Shuttle, which runs between bars and restaurants, downtown parking garages, South Campus, and East Broadway park and ride lots. When traveling with children, make sure you pack enough water and sunscreen; Western Montana weather can often be scorching and sunny, and this may make things uncomfortable for them.
If you want to make their trip even more accessible, Washington-Grizzly Stadium offers premium parking passes for select events. These passes can be purchased either online or in person at Box Office Ticket Sales, making your travel more straightforward while earning Vivid Seats rewards faster!
Inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium are 47 suites that provide an unrivaled view of all the action on the field. Each suite boasts eight game viewing seats, flat-screen TVs, and refrigerators – enabling owners to stock them from Friday to two hours before kick-off time on game days.
This stadium was opened in Missoula, Montana, in 1986 and named in honor of construction magnate Dennis Washington, who donated $1 million towards its cost. Seating over 27,000 fans prior to its opening, UM football had only ever been seen as an afterthought in its home state; winning seasons were rare. Since the beginning of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, UM football has emerged as a national powerhouse.
