Vikings complete 'phase 1' of sports complex upgrades

The Charlo Vikings’ football program is making improvements to its current football facility. To commemorate the improvements that will be made on Bob Halgren Field, several students and facility held a ground breaking ceremony Thursday afternoon at Charlo High School.

Charlo will be re-seeding the football field, laying down turf, installing proper drainage and pipes, resetting the goal posts and reposition the fencing along the sidelines. They were able to secure the estimated $87,000 to get the project started.

After phase two is completed, Charlo will be getting new lightning and reposition it outside the track area. The approximate cost of this will total $60,000. When it is all completed, Charlo will spend over half a million dollars on this project.

This will be part of a three phase plan to revitalize a sports complex. The funding was secure for the first phase. The second part of the phase is still in the process of coming to fruition and still maybe years in the works. Charlo would like to remove the old track material and add a new base, pack the base with material and pour asphalt then an all-weather rubberized surface. The project is estimated to cost $400,000.

The Vikings got some unexpected help to revamp the stadium after they finished second in Class-C 8-man football in 2016.

JR Gilliam from RDO equipment has donated a multitude of equipment to help move the process along.

“We are supplying whatever equipment that they need for renovation,” Gilliam said.

Charlo hopes to have the renovation project complete by the first week of June. Gilliam estimates it will take eight to ten weeks for the sod to set in.

Gilliams’ company said they are dedicated to helping the community of Charlo.

“We are a stake-holder driven organization,” Gilliam said. “As part of our community that we live and work in, we are one of the stakeholders.”

Charlo-resident Todd Fryberger estimates when the project is finished the community will have close to 200 man hours invested in the renovation.

“There is just something about this community,” Todd Fryberger said. “This is something the community has needed for a long time to be able to upgrade the facilities. Our program has been strong for a few years and this should help.”

Todd Fryberger credits the people of Charlo for making this come to fruition.

“When it’s all said and done, we will have so many people with the Charlo community that will be involved with this project,” Todd Fryberger said. “There are three or four generations in the community and it’s a pretty tight-knit group.”

Charlo Vikings’ football player Brady Fryberger, who will enter his senior year in the fall of 2017, said he and his team are “excited” about the change.

“It’ll be fun knowing we have a new home to play on,” Fryberger said. “We are pretty sure our school was established in 1917. It will be cool to be a part of the 100th anniversary and be the first team to get to play on the new field.”

Brady Fryberger said he and his teammates will be challenging each other to see who will score the first touchdown on the field.

“We want to score the first touchdown on the new field come next year,” Brady Fryberger said.