Hillsboro Hops Open New Stadium to Public
The Hillsboro Hops opened the new Hops Ballpark to the public for the first time on Saturday night for the “Lights On: A First Look” event, benefiting the Hillsboro Hops Fund. The inaugural event offered a first look at the long-awaited stadium — from its modern design and upgraded fan amenities to the 9,000 sq. ft premium club. It was a historic night with roughly 300 attendees donating over $120,000 to the fund.
All money raised from the event directly benefit the Hillsboro Hops Fund, which is a community benefits program, the goal of which is to promote, foster and support education, health, culture and youth activities, including activities for underprivileged youth in the Greater Hillsboro area.
"This event has been a long time coming,” said Hannah August, Hops' Senior Director of Merchandise & Community Engagement. “It was an intentional decision that our first event in our new home benefited the Hillsboro Hops Fund. We are so grateful to have shared it with so many of our community members who have supported us throughout the year. This was a great kickoff of what’s to come, both on and off the field."
Last year through youth sports grants, the Hops Fund provided over $125,000 in funding for over 60 youth baseball and softball teams & leagues. The Hops also continued the Dream Big Scholarship, providing $20,000 in scholarships to first-generation college students.
St. Paul, Wild Ask Minnesota for $200M to Build Grand Casino Arena Complex
The Minnesota Wild and city of St. Paul have been working for years to fund upgrades to the team’s home arena and surrounding venues. Now, they’ve got a plan to do it.
On Tuesday morning, the team and Mayor Kaohly Her announced they’ve agreed to “a framework” of a deal that would fund renovations at the Grand Casino Arena complex but would require one-third of the money from the state.
In addition to serving as the home of the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost, the arena hosts dozens of events throughout the year, including concerts, Monster Jam, and the high school hockey tournaments.
Under the terms of the deal, $600 million would be poured into Grand Casino Arena, the RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The parties will ask the Minnesota Legislature to provide $200 million of that, with the city and team each putting up $162.5 million and working together to fund the remaining $75 million.
Of those funds, Her and the Wild say $450 million would go toward Grand Casino Arena, with the remaining $150 million being split among the RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
If approved, the Wild would also agree to cover any project overrun costs and would extend their lease at the arena.
Paragould High School Opens New Baseball, Softball Complex
Paragould High School’s baseball and softball teams officially opened a new athletic complex Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, ceremonial first pitches, and performances by the school’s band and cheerleaders.
The new facility replaces natural grass fields with turf, a change school officials said is already making a difference.
Paragould Schools Superintendent Dr. Nick Jankoviak said the turf allowed both teams to take the field despite rain earlier in the day.
“This morning, we had rain. Typically speaking, that would have caused us to not be able to play today. But due to these fields, we were able to get out onto the field early, warm up a little bit and we’re gonna be able to play,” Jankoviak said. “So, we are really excited in the direction that we’re going.”
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