Board approves Minnetonka Diamond Club partnership to add restrooms and concessions at Veterans Field
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Summary
The Minnetonka School Board approved an amendment to its partnership with the Minnetonka Diamond Club to add permanent restrooms and a concessions area at Veterans Field as the district replaces a failing retaining wall.
The Minnetonka School Board approved an amendment to its operating agreement with the Minnetonka Diamond Club on May 8 to allow the club to fund and build a permanent restroom and concession facility atop a reconfigured plaza at Veterans Field while the district replaces a failing retaining wall.
Executive Director of Finance and Operations Paul Bourgeois told the board the retaining wall on the left-field side of Veterans Field has been shifting and requires replacement; the district previously authorized bonding for an estimated $1.3 million wall replacement. While designing the repair, district engineers proposed using large block construction that would create a larger, vertical plaza capable of supporting a permanent restroom and a concessions building. The Diamond Club offered to donate funds to construct the restroom/concession facility concurrently with the retaining wall replacement.
Bourgeois described the proposed donor schedule: a $500,000 cash donation in August 2025, then $150,000 annually in August 2026 and August 2027, with a further payment in August 2028 if needed, up to a maximum donation of $1 million. Bourgeois said the estimated cost for the restroom/concession facility is between $900,000 and $1,000,000 and that the Diamond Club has a long record of funding field improvements. The Diamond Club board approved the plan by a 16–0 vote, Bourgeois said.
Bourgeois reviewed background: the Diamond Club partnered with the district in 2006 on a roughly $4 million stadium complex and paid about 90% of the principal on bonds tied to that project; the operating agreement was amended in 2021 and extended through 2037. The district will proceed with retaining-wall design and replacement whether or not the Diamond Club donation proceeds; the donation allows the work to include a larger plaza and the new restroom/concession structure concurrently.
Board members praised the proposal and thanked Diamond Club leaders in the audience. The board approved the amended partnership by voice vote. Bourgeois provided a tentative timeline: plan review with the City of Minnetonka and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District in July–August, bid openings in August, retaining-wall reconstruction in September–December and restroom/concessions construction in October–January, with the facility potentially open by April of the following year.
Outcome: amendment approved; district to proceed with retaining-wall procurement and coordinate with the Diamond Club on funding and construction timing.
