MISSOULA, Mont. — Quiet moments are rare at the Clouse Bauer Arena at the Missoula County Fairgrounds as workers are in the final stages of preparing the arena for the Western Montana Fair, which begins early next month – in just 32 days.

“If you want to get into the fair, you have to get there about a week in advance because from the time we get the keys to the stadium, we only have six days to get everything ready,” said Billie Brown, the fairgrounds' event and operations manager. “So we're going to ask our neighborhood volunteers to really help us lay out the plaza and usher people in. We ask the community for forgiveness and a little bit of forbearance as we get you to your seats this year.”

The new stands have 2,100 seats and an additional 400 places to watch the action from one of the arena's three concourses. The lower concourse offers expanded areas for people with disabilities right next to the action in the arena.

In times of division, a place of community like the arena is more needed than ever, Brown said.

“Sharing a bench in the stands, looking forward to it and having that shared experience is something that's really hard to find,” she said. “And the beauty of rodeo and this sport in particular is that it's a very social event and you have a lot of time between the different actions and activities.”

Other changes are being made to the $6 million concrete stadium, which will replace the more than 75-year-old stands. The total cost was reduced to about $5 million thanks to donations, Brown told NBC Montana.

Future plans include permanent seating on the east, west and south sides of the arena, as well as a security fence, she said. The fairgrounds will borrow about 500 portable bleachers from the Helena Fairgrounds this year to increase capacity to the normal 3,000-person mark.

The Western Montana Fair will also host a fifth night of rodeo activities this year, as well as a night of motorcycle racing. Brown expects those events to sell out.

Arena tickets go on sale July 9 on the Missoula County Fairgrounds website. Third-party tickets are not valid.