Idaho Falls High School sports complex to be renamed in $3M deal. Here’s what it will be called.
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IDAHO FALLS – “Frontier Fields” is coming to Idaho Falls High School athletics.
That’s the new name for Idaho Falls High School’s Tiger Athletic Complex after District 91 approved a $3 million, 40-year naming rights agreement with Frontier Credit Union last Wednesday.
About 38 community members addressed the board and an audience of 225 students, coaches, teachers, parents and patrons at Compass Academy — each speaking passionately and respectfully in full support of the agreement.
“As a student-athlete, I stand before you today, not just as a player, but as a dreamer and a believer in the power of our community and sports,” said Idaho Falls High School junior and baseball player Anthony Morales. “We all know that sports is a vital role in shaping the lives of our youth – teaching them vital lessons about teamwork, discipline and perseverance.”
The sports complex, formerly known as the Tiger Athletic Complex, sits on 43.5 acres owned by School District 91 on East 49th South Street. The “Home of the Tigers” currently consists of a newly-completed baseball field with turf and a regulation softball field.
“When we decided to do this, the reason I was so excited about it is because I understood the depth of impact it would have on so many kids over so many years,” Frontier Credit Union Chief Marketing Officer Steven Foster said. “It’s a huge boost for Idaho Falls High School, who has never really had (its) own fields to call its own.”
Currently, the school’s baseball, softball and football teams practice in a retention pond behind the building that is owned by the city. Soccer and tennis also rely on city-owned fields to compete and practice, according to a booster flyer.
During last week’s meeting, Kallie Hillam said coaches frequently have to clean up debris after rainstorms – including “tampons, pads, condoms, diapers and needles.
“It’s unsanitary. It’s negligent, and disturbing that in 2024, we’re allowing children to play in those conditions, and we need to think of the physical safety of our students,” she said.
With the Frontier Fields agreement, the Tigers Club boosters hope to be able to complete construction on two football fields, two soccer fields – goalposts and all – and more at the new complex, possibly by this fall.
“The district is going to form a committee to decide how that money is spent,” said Heather Thompson, a Tiger Club booster volunteer. “I would hope that we could have finished fields in a few months.”
The completed Frontier Fields complex will consist of the two soccer fields, two football fields, two baseball fields and two softball fields, plus eight tennis courts. Completing the full vision will likely require additional donations and funds.
As part of its contract, Frontier Credit Union agreed to pay $1 million within 30 days of the agreement’s ratification. An additional $1 million will be provided within one year from the first payment, followed by a final $1 million installment within 12 months of the second check.
The public-private partnership represents the largest in District 91’s history, board members said.
The board voted unanimously to approve the agreement following weeks and months of discussion and negotiations between Frontier Credit Union and administrators.
The project was conceived in Oct. 2020, when parents asked the district to consider creating a sports complex. The board initially provided “$2 million for permitting, engineering the site plan, excavation, irrigation, parking lots and road improvements on 49th South,” according to an event flyer supplied by the Tiger Club.
Over the past four years, parents and students have raised funds, laid sod, planted trees and built fences at the fields. Prior to Wednesday’s agreement, the booster had raised $440,140 to support the project plus more than $300,000 in in-kind donations from more than 400 donors.
As Morales testified Wednesday, “Building a sports complex would provide a safe and dedicated space for student-athletes like me to practice and compete. It would give us the opportunity to enhance our skills, foster healthy competition and cultivate a sense of community among players, families and fans.”
“It really is a ‘Field of Dreams,’” said Idaho Falls High School booster volunteer Lisa Burtenshaw.
