M.L. city council votes to temporarily close grandstands at Stampede Grounds
The seating area at Meadow Lake’s Stampede Grounds may not be open much longer.
At their regular meeting, members of city council were in complete agreement to close the structure to public access until a public consultation can be held in 2018.
Over the last several years, the aging structure requires an engineering assessment every two years to ensure it was safe for public use. The price tag for repairs in 2015 was over $36,000, and this year when the assessment was done, the estimate to bring them up to code is $115,000 or more.
In her recommendation to council, city manager Diana Burton said administration doesn’t believe it is financially viable to keep repairing the current grandstands, which are mostly used for chuckwagon and horse races a few times in the summer months.