The Montana Department of Commerce recently selected seven communities to share $8.75 million in Community Tourism Grant funds to boost tourism appeal. One of those towns receiving that tourism investment is Glasgow.
The town of Glasgow, one of the most isolated towns in the nation, which is celebrated by their slogan “The Middle of Nowhere," will receive $1.25 million over the next two years.
According to the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the money will be used on two main projects. The first will be enhancing the sports complex at the high school, as their sporting events bring thousands of people to their community.
Lisa Koski, the director of the Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, explains, “We do host a lot of the Class C track meets, divisionals, district, you name it. It brings people to our community, which boosts our hoteliers, our food, our restaurants, our gas stations, because a lot of people come and they stay. Sports tourism is huge for rural Northeast Montana.”
The current high school track was built in 1972, and according to Koski, in pretty bad shape. “Our track is failing,” she says, “Between that and the football field, the drainage, it's just pretty shot.”
The second project will be a downtown pavilion, which will be used to host community events, farmer’s markets, and an amphitheater for live music.
The community hopes this outdoor space will increase foot traffic downtown and attract more customers to the surrounding businesses.
Additional funds will also be used to invest in their trail system. The city hopes to complete these projects within the next five years.
Koski says, “ We have been capitalizing on “the middle of nowhere”, but we have a lot of really unique things to offer in our community, so we're really excited. We'd like to start the ball rolling this spring, and now we're excited for what the next five years are going to do."
The following communities will each receive $1.25 million in Pilot Community Tourism Grant funding over two years, with the potential to receive $2.75 million over 60 months.
- Hardin: “Big Horn Tourism Breakthrough”
- Choteau: “Celebrating our Heritage, Cultivating our Future”
- Fort Benton: “Destination Fort Benton Tourism and Recreation”
- Glasgow: “Explore Glasgow: Trails, Events Pavilion and Sports Hub”
- Glendive: “A Thriving Tourism Hub for All”
- Tribal Tourism Region: “Indigenous Experience: People, Places and Pathways”
