Ada County makes plans for ex-horse track land at Expo Idaho. What about a new stadium?
Ada County is moving forward with a plan to build a large park on the Expo Idaho grounds. But what will happen to the rest of the big property is unclear, including the fate of a proposed stadium development.
The Ada County commissioners have solicited proposals for building a park and recreation area on 88 acres of land near Garden City that sits alongside Expo Idaho, which hosts the Western Idaho Fair.
The commissioners issued a request for qualifications Monday, asking for design professionals to apply for a contest to submit conceptual designs for the space, which includes a former horse-racing track and is also along a flood zone.
Development at the site has been discussed for several years. In 2020, a citizens advisory committee met to discuss plans for redeveloping the full Ada County property, which is about 247 acres, after a previous board of commissioners created the committee in 2019. The full site includes Expo Idaho, Lady Bird Park and Memorial Stadium, where the Boise Hawks baseball team plays.
In January 2021, that committee suggested three potential models, including an agricultural heritage and outdoor education campus; a sports, events and recreation complex; and a mixed-use town center for Garden City, which surrounds the property, according to the committee’s report.
The Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit research organization, also created a map that incorporated citizens’ feedback.
In 2021, the commissioners conducted a survey of over 9,000 county residents, which found that 86% of respondents favor keeping the Expo Idaho and fairgrounds at their current location.
In their request for proposals this week, the commissioners envision “the development of a park in the area to serve underserved neighborhoods, and ... a community park,” the request said. “Ada County envisions green space, tree cover, gathering spaces, playing fields, recreation facilities, and safe sidewalks, away from traffic, for walking and nonmotorized cycling.”
The request also looks to “not negatively impact” the Boise River, which runs nearby, and instead to “utilize this natural feature as an integral part of the park.”
The current proposal is to build the park and recreation areas on the location where the horse racetrack and former stables are located, according to a county spokesperson, Elizabeth Duncan. The county plans to start tearing down the stables later this year.
“The board’s plan encapsulates the public’s desire to have robust green space, playing fields, walking paths and other natural amenities at Expo,” the commissioners told the Idaho Statesman in a joint comment in an email through Duncan. They said they are “taking the recommendations from all three vehicles” of public input, including the two reports and the survey.
A park that will take time to move
In February, the commissioners voted to relocate Lady Bird Park from from the corner of Chinden Boulevard and North Glenwood Street to another location on the property. Though the project is in its early stages, the commissioners plan to put Lady Bird Park near where the racetrack is located, Duncan said. Lady Bird would be part of the 88 acres.
The park used federal dollars from the Land and Water Conservation Fund when it was built in 1967, which means that relocating it requires approval of both the Idaho Department of Parks and the National Park Service. The county would also need to show that a new location is of equivalent value to its current one.
That process alone could take years, said Ed Lodge, the president of Expo Idaho’s advisory board,a co-chair of the citizens advisory committee and a rancher.
“A recommendation that was consistent across the group was to start exploring moving that park, because it would take so long, because there was so much process that would need to take place,” Lodge said.
The park is around 22 acres, he said, and is named after President Lyndon Johnson’s wife, who was known as Lady Bird.
What will happen to the rest of the property?
“Nothing has been determined at this point” regarding further development of the 247-acre property, the email from the commissioners said.
Andrea Fogleman, a Garden City resident and the other co-chair of the advisory committee, said the commissioners’ decision indicates they are on track with the committee’s findings, which she said included thousands of notes and feedback from constituents.
“It sounds like they’re taking the first step, which is to get that (park) moved,” she said. “I truly am happy to hear that there’s been some movement on it.”
Other avenues for development
In 2020, a major Treasure Valley developer proposed turning the fairgrounds into a multi-use site in partnership with the ownership of the Boise Hawks, an independent league team.
The proposal, which would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, included single- and multifamily housing, commercial buildings, restaurants, a hotel, parking and a new baseball stadium.
Tommy Ahlquist, the CEO of Ball Ventures Ahlquist, told the Statesman that his company met with the commissioners at the time about their proposal, and that it was presented to the Greater Boise Auditorium District, which builds spaces for large gatherings. But the proposal did not get traction, he said.
Ahlquist said he would have preferred to see a master plan from the commissioners before they embark on altering a portion of the property in “piecemeal” fashion. He said his company would review the current request for re-doing the horse track and attempt to meet with the commissioners.
Bill Connors, the president of the Boise Metro Chamber and a member of the fairgrounds citizens committee, told the Statesman that he would like to see a new stadium the Hawks could play in, as well as a potential new professional soccer team.
“We’re a triple-A kind of city, and we have a kind of embarrassing ballpark right now,” Connors said, referring to the highest tier of Minor League Baseball. He said he would like to see a long-lasting stadium and other developments, which he said could benefit citizens of Ada County.
“It’s a fantastic piece of property,” he said. “To see it sitting idle right now like it does is kind of silly.”
Qualification statements from firms interested in participating must be submitted to the Ada County Procurement office by July 15. A meeting for those interested in the project will be held at Expo Idaho at 9 a.m. June 27.
Once proposals are submitted, county staff members will evaluate them and produce a short list of three firms to be reviewed by the commissioners on Aug. 2, according to the request for qualifications. The top firms will also be scheduled to meet with county on Aug. 8.
In October, those top firms will present their designs in an open meeting, which will be considered by the commissioners later that month.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
