Spokane Downtown Stadium
  Spokane Downtown Stadium Location in Spokane, WA  Spokane Downtown Stadium Spokane Downtown Stadium (Washington (state)) | |
| Address | 501 W Gardener Ave Spokane, WA United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 47°40′03″N 117°25′09″W / 47.66742°N 117.41926°WCoordinates: 47°40′03″N 117°25′09″W / 47.66742°N 117.41926°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Public transit |
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| Owner | Spokane Public Schools |
| Operator | Spokane Public Facilities District |
| Capacity | 5,007 (seats in stands) 10,000-12,000 (seats in stands and field) |
| Field size | 251 ft x 395 ft |
| Surface | Artificial turf |
| Current use | Under construction |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 30, 2021 |
| Opened | Estimated September 2023 |
| Construction cost | Estimated $38 million[1] |
| Architect | ALSC Architects [2] |
| Builder | Garco Construction |
| Tenants | |
| |
| Website | |
| https://www.spokanestadium.com | |
The ONE Spokane Stadium is a mulit-purpose stadium in Spokane, Washington. The facility is under construction and is set to replace the now closed Joe Albi Stadium. The venue is owned by Spokane Public Schools (SPS) and is operated by Spokane Public Facilities District (SPFD). The venue is home to SPS high school football and soccer and will also host three United Soccer League (USL) teams.
History
2018 advisory vote
In 2018, Spokane Public Schools (SPS) proposed a bond to replace three middle schools, build three new ones, and either renovate the historic Joe Albi Stadium or replace it with a new downtown stadium.[3] The City of Spokane held the advisory vote on whether to rennovate the existing Joe Albi stadium in its current location, or seek to build a new stadium closer to the Spokane Arena in the downtown area. The results favored rennovating the Joe Albi stadium in its then current location.
| Stadium preference | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Albi Stadium renovation | 56,302 | 64.31% |
| New Downtown location | 31,247 | 35.69% |
The city and district boundaries do not align well and some argued this led to a misrepresentation of the school district. According to the school district, more than 10,000 Spokane Public Schools citizens, reside outside the city limits and were not able to vote for the measure.[5] In December 2018, Spokane Public Facilities District and the Spokane Sports Commission propse a downtown stadium partnership, but the SPS board votes to continue with the Joe Albi location renovation.
Renovation of Joe Albi Stadium
ALSC Architects and Garco Construction were contracted to design and construct the renovation of the original Joe Albi Stadium.[6] Preliminary plans and renderings had already been finished.
Downtown stadium proposal
On March 2, 2021, United Soccer League (USL) with the Downtown Spokane Partnership announced a proposal to Spokane Public Schools to stop plans to renovate Joe Albi Stadium and instead, move forward with building a new sports stadium downtown in partnership with USL and the Spokane Public Facilities District.[7] The proposal cited an economic impact study that claimed a downtown stadium would bring $11.4 million in economic activity to Spokane compared to $1.3 million at the Joe Albi location. USL also agreed to contribute $2 million toward the venue.[8] The proposed venue was a parking lot immediately North of another new sports venue under the Public Facilities district, The Podium, adjacent to the Spokane Civic Theatre and near the Spokane Arena.
Spokane Public Schools held multiple public hearings and a large online survey to gain input on the proposal.[9] Many statements recommended adhering to the 2018 advisory vote, many had concerns about parking capcity with so many venues in the area, while others focused on the possibility of a central location and attracting the USL teams. The online survey had large support for the downtown location.[10]
In May 2021, the SPS school board voted 4-1 in favor of stopping the renovation plan for Joe Albi Stadium, and relocated the new stadium to the northbank in downtown Spokane.[11] The stipulations of the agreement included SPS retain 100% ownership of the stadium, priority usage rights, equity efforts for local contractors, SPS would receive $22.5 million in cost savings throughout the term of the contract, noise concerns regarding the nearby Spokane Civic Theatre would be addressed, additional parking would be made available, SPS event parking would be free, and the district would receive a portion of non-SPS event revenue.[8]
In December 2021, SPS voted to continue partnership with USL over a new offer from Brett Sports & Entertainment (owner of Spokane Indians and Spokane Chiefs) to bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) farm club.[12] USL doubled its previous committment from $2 million to $4 million while Brett Sports & Entertainment proposed $200,000 annually plus 7% of net ticket sales.[13]
Funding
$31 million, a majority of the funding, came from the 2018 Spokane Public Schools bond. United Soccer League committed $4 million.[14][15]
Naming
In January 2023, SPS announced the start of the naming process for the stadium.[16] As of April 2023, proposals have been submitted by the Spokane Public Facilities District to the SPS board but did not meet the predetermined requirements. During stadium naming discussions, it was decided to rename W Dean Avenene next to the stadium "Joe Albi Way".[17]
In July 2023, SPS voted in favor of a SPFD proposal to name the facility: ONE Spokane Stadium.[18]
Construction
The original renovation firms, ALSC Architects and Garco Construction, were retained for the new downtown stadium project.[6] Construction began in late 2021 with the groundbreaking ceremony on November 30, 2021. With at challenging rockbed under the former parking lot, explosives were used to blast apart the rock.[19] The topping out ceremony was on May 11, 2023. As part of the agreement, Spokane Public Facilities District purchased and demolished a Value Village across the street from the new stadium to make way for new parking and a bus connection with the Spokane Tranist system.[20][21] Construction is expected to be complete in September 2023.[22]
Location
On the north bank of the Spokane river in downtown Spokane, near the Spokane Arena, The Podium, and Spokane Civic Theatre. The former locaiton was a parking lot owned by the Public Facilities District used for nearby venues.
Features
The stadium is set to feature LED lights across the stadium that will change color to reflect whichever team is hosting that day.[23] The stadium will feature 5,000 seats during sports games and has planned a capacity of up to 10,000-12,000 people for other events.[24]
Big LED screen, 44,840 or 99,145 square foot field, serves five public high schools.
Events & Tenants
Spokane Public Schools will use the venue for high school football and soccer games. The United Soccer League (USL) and franchise owner, Aequus Sports, LLC (led by Ryan and Katie Harnetiauxhas), announced three teams: two professional soccer teams, a USL1 men's team (USL1 Spokane), a USL Super League women's team, and a pre-professional USL W League women's team.[25][26][27]
Anchor tenants
Spokane Public Schools (SPS) high school football and soccer
- Joel E. Ferris High School
- Lewis and Clark High School
- North Central High School
- John R. Rogers High School
- Shadle Park High School
United Soccer League (USL)
- USL League One men's soccer team
- USL W League women's soccer team
- USL Super League women's soccer team
References
- ↑ "New Stadium". May 7, 2023. p. 1.
- ↑ "Downtown Stadium, Spokane Public Schools". ALSC Architects.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (April 13, 2021). "Downtown versus Albi: A timeline of the Spokane Public Schools stadium issue | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ "Spokane Stadium Advisory Vote - 2018 Washington General Election, Nov. 6". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ↑ Arnis, Grace (May 5, 2021). "Spokane Public Schools board votes to build new stadium downtown". krem.com. Retrieved Jan 14, 2023.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nellis, Natasha (June 3, 2021). "Stadium Steps: Details get hammered out on $31 million-plus stadium project > Spokane Journal of Business". www.spokanejournal.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Staff, USLSoccer com (March 2, 2021). "USL, Downtown Spokane Partnership Announce New Proposal for Downtown Stadium". USL League One. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Criscione, Wilson (May 13, 2021). "Spokane Public Schools approves proposal to build downtown stadium". Inlander. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (March 12, 2021). "Spokane Public Schools launches online survey on downtown stadium proposal | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (April 13, 2021). "As decision looms, Spokane Public Schools' online survey shows widespread support for downtown stadium | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Arnis, Grace (May 5, 2021). "Spokane Public Schools board votes to build new stadium downtown". krem.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (November 4, 2021). "Soccer showdown: Brett Sports and Entertainment hopes to put MLS farm team in Spokane | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ deMause, Neil (December 15, 2021). "USL defeats MLS in bid for Spokane soccer team, city doesn't quite get how "bidding" works". Field of Schemes. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (May 24, 2022). "Some features of Downtown Spokane stadium could be scaled down amid inflation and supply chain issues | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (December 14, 2021). "Spokane officials choose United Soccer League to bring men's and women's teams to new downtown stadium | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Naming process begins for downtown Spokane stadium". krem.com. January 18, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ↑ Allen, Jim (May 24, 2023). "Spokane Public Schools considers idea to continue honoring Joe Albi, even if a stadium isn't named after him | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ↑ Perry, Elena (July 13, 2023). "'ONE Spokane': Downtown sports stadium name approved by school officials Wednesday | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ↑ Cain-Gray, Tasha (March 14, 2022). "How to watch the blasting at the new downtown Spokane stadium site". KXLY. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Saglimbeni, Vincent (March 8, 2023). "Old Value Village torn down for downtown Spokane stadium parking". KXLY kxly.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Tiernan, Colin (January 26, 2022). "Value Village property eyed for $5.25 million to offset downtown stadium parking losses | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Elias, Karina (March 30, 2023). "North Bank stadium to be completed in September > Spokane Journal of Business". www.spokanejournal.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ Greene, Brenna (February 8, 2022). "Downtown Spokane Stadium construction underway with an eye toward the future". krem.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Future Schools & Improvements / New Stadium". www.spokaneschools.org. May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ↑ "New soccer club owners in Spokane announce addition of professional women's team | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ↑ "USL Super League". USL Spokane. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ↑ Traub, Matt (2023-05-16). "USL Super League Announces Initial Markets". SportsTravel. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
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