"We had to get it done in the time that Fonner Park gave us. We had to divvy it up in phases," Tim Golka, the city of Grand Island's project engineer on Stolley Park Road, told KSNB in September. "We had the first part done by the time of the fair, now we will be moving into the fall phase."
The city split the work so it would stay out of the fair. Fall is also when the Fonner Park campus moves indoors, though. Between now and Thanksgiving weekend there's a game show, a Big Ten basketball game, a tattoo convention, a wine festival, a gun show, livestock shows and a full season of youth and adult leagues at the Community Fieldhouse. The road out front is closed for almost all of it. Until about mid-December, Fonner Park Road is the way into the campus. Plan your fall around that road and the rest gets easier.
Why the Work Landed Here and Now
On Jan. 27, City Council awarded the Stolley Park Road contract to Diamond Engineering Company of Grand Island for $3,323,770. The project runs from South Locust Street to Stuhr Road. It replaces the old asphalt with a concrete curb-and-gutter street and adds sidewalks and a bike trail, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and new markings and signs.
The first phase covered South Locust to Fonner Park's main south entrance. It opened to traffic in August, ahead of the fair. The fall phase began Sept. 10 and closed Stolley Park Road for about 1,200 feet west from Stuhr Road. The detour uses South Locust Street, Fonner Park Road and Stuhr Road. The city expects this phase to be finished and open to traffic by Dec. 15.
Fonner Park's live racing season this year ran Feb. 14 through May 2, so the racetrack itself is quiet this fall. The buildings around it aren't.
What Changes After Friday, Oct. 2
The campus's main south entrance stays open through Friday, Oct. 2. After that, no city notice we've found says which other gate or parking approach takes its place. The city has said only that it will contact adjacent properties directly about access during construction.
What the public notices do make clear is that Fonner Park Road is part of the official detour. It's also the street address of the Community Fieldhouse, at 525 East Fonner Park Road. So the street that leads you to soccer practice is the same street carrying detour traffic, and on a big event night that traffic includes everyone headed to the arena or the Expo Center.
Before a big event, three things help:
- Check the city's Stolley Park Road project page or call Public Works at 308-385-5455 for current closures.
- Call the venue box office about parking and gates. The BigIron Events Center's number is 308-675-8060.
- Allow extra time on nights when more than one building has something going on. Those nights are below.
October, Building by Building
The events calendar Fonner Park publishes for the whole campus is marked "Updated as of 6/2/2026," so check with each organizer before you go. The venue pages and organizer sites below add or confirm several dates.
| Date | Event | Where on campus |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1–4 | Platte Valley Boer-Nanza | Sheep Barn |
| Oct. 5 | Community Fieldhouse opens; adult volleyball leagues begin | Community Fieldhouse |
| Oct. 6–7 | Nebraska Facilities Week | BigIron Events Center |
| Oct. 13 | The Price Is Right Live, 7 p.m.; fall youth soccer begins | BigIron Events Center; Fieldhouse |
| Oct. 18 | Adult men's basketball league begins | Community Fieldhouse |
| Oct. 22 | Project Connect | Pinnacle Bank Expo Center |
| Oct. 24 | Horrorfest, GI Rifle Club Gun Show, Bye Week Block Party, girls' high school soccer | Several buildings |
| Oct. 26 | Nebraska vs. Kansas State men's basketball | BigIron Events Center |
Nebraska Facilities Week is a two-day training event for people who run buildings, organized by Care Navigation Solutions. The Price Is Right Live is on a Tuesday night. Audience members are picked at random to play the show's games on stage for prizes, and the rest of the crowd plays along with trivia. Tickets are sold at the BigIron box office and online. Pinnacle Bank presents the Huskers' men's basketball game against Kansas State on Monday, Oct. 26.
Saturday, Oct. 24, Is the Day to Plan Ahead
If one day this fall shows why the detour matters, it's Saturday, Oct. 24. Here's what's on the calendars for the campus that day:
- Horrorfest at the Aurora Cooperative Pavilion
- The GI Rifle Club Gun Show at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center. Fonner Park's calendar lists Oct. 23–25, while the promoter's listing says Oct. 24–25, so check with the Grand Island Rifle Club before you go.
- The 2026 Bye Week Block Party, a coed volleyball tournament at the Fieldhouse. The team fee is $96 and registration closes Oct. 18.
- The girls' high school soccer league starts at the Fieldhouse, and the boys' league starts the next day.
That's four separate crowds heading to one campus, all coming in from the detour side. If you're dropping off a player or picking up a team, getting there early on Fonner Park Road will help more than any shortcut.
The Fieldhouse Season, With Numbers
The Community Fieldhouse is a 70,000-square-foot city building with indoor batting cages, turf fields, basketball and volleyball courts, meeting rooms and a children's playground. It opens for the 2026/27 season on Monday, Oct. 5. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Grand Island Parks and Recreation notes that hours change on school days and holidays.
Daily admission, per the city's rates page:
- Under 2: free
- Ages 2–4: $3.75
- Ages 5–15: $6.25
- Students 16 and up with ID: $6.50
- Seniors 55 and up: $6.75
- Adults: $7.25
Open pickleball runs on three courts, first come, first served, with no preregistration. Daily admission applies, and the guide asks players to call for times. The cheapest way in for kids is Fieldhouse PE, a $4 drop-in class for ages 5 to 18 with no preregistration. It meets Oct. 9 and 23 and Nov. 6 and 20. At $4, that's $2.25 less than regular admission for ages 5 to 15.
Here's what the leagues cost this fall. Youth soccer for ages 3 to 10 is $58 a session and starts Oct. 13. High school soccer is $380 for five to seven games. The Fieldhouse number is 308-384-1999.
November, and a New Name on the Arena
By November you'll see more of the arena's new name. In June, after City Council approval and the mayor's signature, the Heartland Events Center became the BigIron Events Center. The naming-rights deal is among the City of Grand Island, BigIron Auctions and Realty, and venue operator VenuWorks. Central Nebraska Today reported a potential value of about $1.54 million over an 11-year term with renewal options, with BigIron paying $140,000 a year for the first five years. Some calendars and event pages still use the old name, so a ticket that says Heartland is for the same building.
November on campus:
- Nov. 6–8: Ink The Island Tattoo Convention, a three-day show at the BigIron Events Center
- Nov. 13–14: Wood River Rural Schools FFA Prospect Show at Five Points Bank Arena and the Grand Island Motor Company cattle barn
- Nov. 14: Toast Nebraska Holiday Winefest at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, organized by the Nebraska Winery and Grape Growers Association
- Nov. 21: Project Hunger at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center
- Nov. 27–28: Ultimate Bullfighters Northern Tour Regional Finals at Five Points Bank Arena, and The Merry Market at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center
Thanksgiving weekend brings two shows to two buildings with the detour still in place. The holiday-shopping crowd at The Merry Market and the bullfighting crowd at Five Points Bank Arena will be using the same roads.
If the schedule holds, Stolley Park Road reopens Tuesday, Dec. 15, as a concrete street with curb and gutter, new sewer lines underneath, and a sidewalk and bike trail along it from South Locust to Stuhr Road.
Road projects like this one shape how a part of town works day to day, and at Summit Real Estate we keep track of them along with our Grand Island neighbors. If you have questions about the south side, from Stolley Park Road to the new developments, we'd be glad to share what we know. Contact Us Today.
