BUTTE - As production commences on the latest installment of the Yellowstone television series at the Butte Civic Center, the town is trying to find ways to accommodate other events during this very busy summer.
“All of the venues in town have been very helpful and there has been a lot of teamwork with the Butte people so that we can keep our events and also have this production here in the community,” said Butte Civic Center Manager Bill Melvin.
The successful franchise plans to film its 1923 episodes in historic Uptown Butte.
“It fits their motif of 1923 quite well, so they really like the location here. They’ll be doing filming all over though, I think they’re going out and about in the community and out to local ranches,” said Melvin.
Meanwhile, the city is finding other venues that normally would have been held in the civic center for upcoming tournaments and craft shows.
But city officials are happy to let the production team use the civic center.
“The positives far outweigh the negatives. They’re wonderful people to work with, they’re spending all kinds of money in Butte,” said Melvin.
There could be up to 500 people coming into Butte to work on the show.
“They should expect maybe more company in the grocery stores, they should expect a couple of parking spaces taken. I think the town’s going to be busy,” said production crew member Francisco Reynoso III.
The general election is coming up in November, but the production crew will still be at the civic center.
The city has already made arrangements to relocate the polling place from the civic center to here the former Herberger’s store in the Butte Plaza Mall.
“It’s nice because it’s easy to get people in and out of. So people who have special needs or need accommodations, you know, they can’t walk as well or they’re in a wheelchair, you can get them right in and out, so it’s a wonderful spot for the election,” said Melvin.
Production is expected to continue until the end of the year.
