Park City School District Board of Education approves Dozier Field rebuild

The Phase 4 site plan for Dozier Field outlines the new track, expanded concrete seating structure, and upgraded stadium amenities. Photo: Park City School District

PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City School District Board of Education on Monday approved a guaranteed maximum price of about $15.7 million for Phase 4 of its athletics master plan, clearing the way for major upgrades to Dozier Field without any tax increase for district residents.

The board voted during a special session on Nov. 24 to move ahead with design and construction at Park City High School that will rebuild the home-side stadium structure and replace the existing track. Under the plan, Phase 4 will install a new track surface and completely reconstruct the home-side bleachers as a concrete seating structure housing locker rooms, restrooms, concessions, a press box, and added storage. The existing synthetic turf field will remain. Improvements are also planned near the southeast stadium entrance, where the district will replace modular restroom facilities and upgrade spaces for visiting teams, officials, and equipment.

District officials say the $15.7 million price will be covered by remaining funds from the Treasure Mountain Sports Complex project, high-school bond funds, and district capital reserves, with no additional tax burden. The approved amount is lower than earlier design options, which the district attributed to value engineering — including dropping a canopy feature, reducing landscaping, and simplifying branding.

Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman said the Dozier Field upgrades are intended to serve both student-athletes and the broader community while staying within the district’s financial parameters.

The Dozier Field work is part of a four-phase athletics master plan that also includes the former Treasure Mountain Junior High property site.

Earlier board approvals committed about $38 million to phases 1, 2, and 4 of the plan, covering turf baseball and softball fields, tennis/pickleball courts, a multi-use turf field complex, and parking improvements, all financed without a new tax levy. Phase 3 — which would renovate the high-school gym, add a field house, and expand parking — remains under discussion and is estimated at more than $90 million; that phase may require new funding, including a tax increase.

Construction updates this year highlight ongoing work at the Treasure Mountain site and new athletics facilities under development at Park City High School. Officials have said the expanded facilities are needed to keep pace with growing student-athlete participation, which has increased from 657 to 761 athletes in two years.

Related compliance issues

In recent weeks, the district has also faced two separate regulatory developments linked to the same overall construction and facilities program:

On Nov. 19, TownLift reported that the Utah Division of Air Quality issued a compliance advisory to PCSD after finding asbestos-containing materials still present during demolition at the Treasure Mountain campus. Inspectors observed demolition on Oct. 22 in areas where surfacing material reportedly contained about 4% asbestos, in violation of federal rules requiring surfacing materials to be removed or regulated before demolition begins.

On Nov. 21, TownLift reported that a PCSD contractor discharged about 26,500 gallons of water from the Treasure Mountain demolition site into a nearby creek on Oct. 10. Lab tests of samples taken Aug. 15 found elevated levels of arsenic and lead exceeding Utah’s drinking-water-source limits. The discharge is under review by state regulators; the district says the incident was reported to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality immediately.

District officials say they take environmental compliance seriously, note that a full-time environmental specialist is on-site daily, and assert that no workers, students, or community members were ever at risk. Nonetheless, both incidents raise questions about oversight of the broader construction program and may prompt additional scrutiny of the district’s environmental health and safety protocols.