FARM II moves closer to reality
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 23rd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton City Council and the Pendleton Development Commission have declared the residential land they own west of the Pendleton Convention Center to be surplus. The city is turning it over to Round-Up Holdings LLC. This is all part of a plan for the construction of FARM II.
“The land goes to the Round-Up so that they can then lease the property to Blue Mountain Community College for the construction of FARM II,” City Manager Robb Corbett said.
It is stipulated that the lease will be for at least 50 years. FARM II will include classroom space and an inside arena. The arena would serve as a year-round home to the award-winning Blue Mountain Community College rodeo team. It is also the hope of city officials that the arena would also enable the city to stage events in the winter months instead of just in the summer.
BMCC has hired an architect and site preparation will begin this spring. Construction is set to start after the 2023 Pendleton Round-Up the second full week of September. State funding was received for the facility and private donations have also been received.
The effort to create FARM II was led by BMCC, Round-Up, Happy Canyon, Umatilla County, the city of Pendleton, the Port of Umatilla, and the InterMountain Education Service District.
