Jackson approves up to $1.2M to overhaul Snow King grandstands, add girls’ locker room

The Jackson Town Council voted Dec. 15 to amend the current fiscal year budget to allocate up to $1.2 million from the town’s Capital Projects Fund to help replace aging grandstands and create a dedicated girls’ locker room at the Snow King Sports & Events Center.

Andrew Bridal, a board member of the community partner that operates the rink, said the combined construction costs for grandstands and locker rooms total $1,752,000 and that the organization had already raised and spent roughly $100,000 on planning and feasibility work. Bridal told the council the project is intended to address accessibility and safety issues and to provide a private, dignified space for female athletes.

Members of the public, including coaches, players and parents, urged the council to act. John Morgan, the Wyoming Amateur Hockey Association’s girls player-development director, said girls across the state routinely lack separate locker rooms and that Jackson is well positioned to be a model for change. Online commenter Nikki Gill said the existing space offered “only the semblance of privacy” and described being the only girl on a youth team decades ago.

Council deliberations focused on timing and fiscal priorities. Town Manager Clark Sinclair outlined two funding paths: a capital projects fund balance (which staff said had about $8 million at the end of the fiscal year) or the town’s unassigned general fund. Several councilors said acting now would save money by avoiding inflation-driven cost increases and would reduce safety and equity gaps; others said the request should go through the regular 2027 budget process to preserve discipline and review competing needs.

Councilor Beaman moved to amend the FY2026 budget to include up to $1.2 million for improvements to the Snow King facility; the motion carried after discussion. Council members who supported the motion urged CMI to continue fundraising and asked staff to include clear accounting of what the town’s contribution would cover. The motion was recorded as approved by the council during the meeting.

The council and staff agreed to follow up with more granular cost breakdowns and to track philanthropic commitments promised by the community partner. The council’s vote permits the town to begin contracting and planning work to allow construction to proceed in a timeframe intended to avoid missing another winter season.