Construction has begun on the new stadium at Al Krueger Field in Perham.
It was announced late last week that the grandstands will bear the name "Tuffy Stadium" in honor of Tuffy Nelson, of Tuffy's Dog Food in Perham, who was instrumental in the installation of lights at the field.
Tuffy's son, Kenny Nelson, and Kenny's wife Kim have pledged $100,000 to the new stadium. Kenny Nelson is the CEO of KLN Enterprises in Perham. KLN logos will be added to locations on the grandstand.
At a meeting of the Perham City Council last Wednesday, Fred Sailer spoke on behalf of a committee that has been working on the project. He said a total of 56 individuals or businesses in the area have made donations to the new grandstand; including the "major donation" by KLN, nearly $260,000 has been raised. Another estimated $100,000, he added, has been donated in the form of free/reduced labor and materials.
All total, donations have exceeded the total estimated cost of the project, which is about $320,000.
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Any extra funds left over after the grandstand is complete, Sailer said, would go to safety upgrades to the field, new fencing, a donor wall, more lighting and possibly even a new scoreboard.
"The point is, if we go over what we need, we'll put it right back into that facility," he said.
Tony Stoll of BHH Architects, which is donating its engineering work for the project, said the new grandstands should be up and ready in time for the city's traditional July 4th baseball game.
There may still be some "loose ends" at that time, Stoll said, such as dugout work and finishing work on the press box, but the stands should be "useable."
"I just can't believe it's going this fast," said councilor Jim Johnson. "It's incredible."
"This town isn't much for sitting around," replied Sailer. "We're moving."
A committee has been working on the project since January, after a structural engineer deemed the former grandstands unsafe.
The committee's fundraising goal was to have enough money raised by April 15 to start construction on the grandstands right away. That goal was met "without much trouble," according to Sailer: "People have been really wanting to get behind this project."
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On Wednesday, city council members unanimously gave their approval to begin construction of the grandstands. At their last regular meeting on April 9, they pledged the city's contribution of $30,000 to the project.
"One thing we can be very proud of is that we have many people who gave what they could because they have been impacted by the park in one way or another," Sailer wrote in an email to media and city staff last week. "Every gift is important; the more ownership we have, the better."
This project is unique, Stoll said at the meeting, because "we have so many different people and organizations and contractors coming together on this."
