$42 million earmarked for improvements to Churchill County facilities

Get ready for some big changes coming to the 3C Event Complex and North Maine Street.

With the announcement Tuesday by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Churchill County is set to receive $42 million in funding for improvements at the 3C Event Complex and the North Maine Street ballfields.

The funding is part of an overall commitment of $375 million by the department to fund 36 projects aimed at enhancing recreational opportunities, conserving wildlife habitat, reducing hazardous fuels, and preventing wildfires across Nevada and the California side of the Lake Tahoe basin.

“This funding will be transformative for Churchill County residents, allowing us to start several improvement projects at the 3C Event Complex and the North Maine Street ballfields for the benefit of the community,” said Myles Getto, chair of the Churchill County Commission. “We will completely overhaul both facilities with vast improvements for teams, events, vendors and spectators.”

Improvements include renovation of the county’s current fairgrounds with a focus on improving facilities to expand the number of participants for a variety of outdoor events and complete renovations of the baseball/softball fields on North Maine Street.

The 3C Event Complex includes construction of a covered equestrian arena, expansion of existing arenas, renovations of the multipurpose building, bathrooms, concessions, field house, splash pad, shade structures, playground areas, seating areas; and parking, biking, and walking paths; RV hook-ups, general beautification, and ADA and safety upgrades.

At the North Maine Ball Parks, the funding will completely replace existing ball field infrastructure to update and expand with more efficient facilities including fields, concessions, restrooms, field house, walking/biking paths and paved parking.

The funding, sourced from Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Valley land sales under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA), marks a continued investment in sustainable community infrastructure for Churchill County and the City of Fallon.

Churchill County became part of the SNPLMA upon Congress passing the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act which authorized NAS Fallon to modernize its ranges. As part of SNPLMA, Churchill County is now eligible to apply for funding generated by the sale of federal lands in Southern Nevada.

In early spring 2023, the county submitted three projects for consideration as part of the Round 20 submittal process. Through several rounds of scoring, the SNPLMA Executive Committee selected the 3C Event Complex renovation and the North Maine Street Ballfield improvements as eligible projects and recommended their inclusion to the secretary of the Interior for final approval.

SNPLMA funds must be used for the benefit of communities and public lands in one of seven project areas including the creation of local parks, trails, and natural areas and those projects which facilitate economic development and new employment.

Draft improvement plans have been drawn up and renovations will begin in the coming months.

Anne McMillin is the public information officer for Churchill County.