Smithfield’s Town Council voted unanimously on May 7 to commit an additional $251,790 from the town’s share of American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, federal pandemic relief money toward building a concession stand for the football field at the Luter Sports Complex.

A separate unanimous vote awarded the job to Athens Building Corp., the same contractor currently rebuilding the footbridges at Windsor Castle Park.

Athens was the lowest of six bidders, coming in at $624,900, according to an April 22 memorandum from Town Manager Michael Stallings to the council. The town has budgeted a 10% contingency, bringing the total estimated cost to $696,790.

The town had previously allocated $445,000 in ARPA money for the concession stand after pulling the amount from a nearly 4,000-square-foot maintenance building for all three town-owned parks. That project is on hold due to cost estimates having soared to over $1 million.

The 600-square-foot concession stand will be a two-story building with bathrooms on the first floor and the second housing conference space for Smithfield Packers Youth Sports, which administers the park’s football program.

Of the roughly $8.7 million in ARPA funds the town was allotted in 2021, roughly $928,000 remains unallocated.