Tornado leaves behind questions of upcoming events
Billings, MT – In the wake of last week’s tornado in Billings it leaves behind a considerable amount of cleanup and repair as well as concern for upcoming events at MetraPark. At approximately 4:20 p.m., a tornado touched down at MetraPark and hovered for several minutes over the Rimrock Auto Arena. The intensity of the storm ripped a substantial amount of the roof off the 10,000-seat arena, while destroying a majority of the trees around the facility. Montana Governor Brian Switzer toured the area and is expected to declare it an emergency, which will allow for access to funding for cleanup
“First we are thankful that there was no one hurt,” says NILE General Manager Justin Mills. “The NILE offices were untouched, but obviously we are concerned about the affects this will have on NILE in October as well as for our PBR event next spring, should the damage be that severe. At this time, we are planning to have the NILE in October since a majority of our events are in the other buildings. I know we are not the only promoter that is concerned about their future events, as is MetraPark regarding their own events, and I believe there is universal hope that the repair can be expedited.”
At this time, there is still a considerable amount of unknowns regarding the status of the arena. A building inspector was to tour the grounds Monday and determine the integrity of the building. This will begin to provide some direction for moving forward.
The NILE is the largest renter of MetraPark and holds its three largest events on the grounds: the NILE Stock Show, ProRodeo, and Western Expo is scheduled for October 11-16, 2010; the Montana Agri-Trade Exposition (MATE Show) and Home & Health Expo will be February 17-19, 2011; and the PBR NILE Invitational which is tentatively slated for May of 2011.
For updates and information go to http://www.thenile.org or call 406-256-2495.
Billings, MT – In the wake of last week’s tornado in Billings it leaves behind a considerable amount of cleanup and repair as well as concern for upcoming events at MetraPark. At approximately 4:20 p.m., a tornado touched down at MetraPark and hovered for several minutes over the Rimrock Auto Arena. The intensity of the storm ripped a substantial amount of the roof off the 10,000-seat arena, while destroying a majority of the trees around the facility. Montana Governor Brian Switzer toured the area and is expected to declare it an emergency, which will allow for access to funding for cleanup
“First we are thankful that there was no one hurt,” says NILE General Manager Justin Mills. “The NILE offices were untouched, but obviously we are concerned about the affects this will have on NILE in October as well as for our PBR event next spring, should the damage be that severe. At this time, we are planning to have the NILE in October since a majority of our events are in the other buildings. I know we are not the only promoter that is concerned about their future events, as is MetraPark regarding their own events, and I believe there is universal hope that the repair can be expedited.”
At this time, there is still a considerable amount of unknowns regarding the status of the arena. A building inspector was to tour the grounds Monday and determine the integrity of the building. This will begin to provide some direction for moving forward.
The NILE is the largest renter of MetraPark and holds its three largest events on the grounds: the NILE Stock Show, ProRodeo, and Western Expo is scheduled for October 11-16, 2010; the Montana Agri-Trade Exposition (MATE Show) and Home & Health Expo will be February 17-19, 2011; and the PBR NILE Invitational which is tentatively slated for May of 2011.
For updates and information go to http://www.thenile.org or call 406-256-2495.
Billings, MT – In the wake of last week’s tornado in Billings it leaves behind a considerable amount of cleanup and repair as well as concern for upcoming events at MetraPark. At approximately 4:20 p.m., a tornado touched down at MetraPark and hovered for several minutes over the Rimrock Auto Arena. The intensity of the storm ripped a substantial amount of the roof off the 10,000-seat arena, while destroying a majority of the trees around the facility. Montana Governor Brian Switzer toured the area and is expected to declare it an emergency, which will allow for access to funding for cleanup
“First we are thankful that there was no one hurt,” says NILE General Manager Justin Mills. “The NILE offices were untouched, but obviously we are concerned about the affects this will have on NILE in October as well as for our PBR event next spring, should the damage be that severe. At this time, we are planning to have the NILE in October since a majority of our events are in the other buildings. I know we are not the only promoter that is concerned about their future events, as is MetraPark regarding their own events, and I believe there is universal hope that the repair can be expedited.”
At this time, there is still a considerable amount of unknowns regarding the status of the arena. A building inspector was to tour the grounds Monday and determine the integrity of the building. This will begin to provide some direction for moving forward.
The NILE is the largest renter of MetraPark and holds its three largest events on the grounds: the NILE Stock Show, ProRodeo, and Western Expo is scheduled for October 11-16, 2010; the Montana Agri-Trade Exposition (MATE Show) and Home & Health Expo will be February 17-19, 2011; and the PBR NILE Invitational which is tentatively slated for May of 2011.
For updates and information go to http://www.thenile.org or call 406-256-2495.
Billings, MT – In the wake of last week’s tornado in Billings it leaves behind a considerable amount of cleanup and repair as well as concern for upcoming events at MetraPark. At approximately 4:20 p.m., a tornado touched down at MetraPark and hovered for several minutes over the Rimrock Auto Arena. The intensity of the storm ripped a substantial amount of the roof off the 10,000-seat arena, while destroying a majority of the trees around the facility. Montana Governor Brian Switzer toured the area and is expected to declare it an emergency, which will allow for access to funding for cleanup
“First we are thankful that there was no one hurt,” says NILE General Manager Justin Mills. “The NILE offices were untouched, but obviously we are concerned about the affects this will have on NILE in October as well as for our PBR event next spring, should the damage be that severe. At this time, we are planning to have the NILE in October since a majority of our events are in the other buildings. I know we are not the only promoter that is concerned about their future events, as is MetraPark regarding their own events, and I believe there is universal hope that the repair can be expedited.”
At this time, there is still a considerable amount of unknowns regarding the status of the arena. A building inspector was to tour the grounds Monday and determine the integrity of the building. This will begin to provide some direction for moving forward.
The NILE is the largest renter of MetraPark and holds its three largest events on the grounds: the NILE Stock Show, ProRodeo, and Western Expo is scheduled for October 11-16, 2010; the Montana Agri-Trade Exposition (MATE Show) and Home & Health Expo will be February 17-19, 2011; and the PBR NILE Invitational which is tentatively slated for May of 2011.
For updates and information go to http://www.thenile.org or call 406-256-2495.
