Spiders emerge, fill soccer void

It was about 10 months ago that soccer players and fans in the area found out the Spokane Shadow were calling it quits.

Nearly one year later, the Spokane Spiders are hoping to fill the void left by the Shadow as the new franchise in the Northwest Division of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League.

Last March, Shadow owner Bobby Brett suspended play, calling on City Hall to fix the artificial turf at Albi Stadium that an independent Portland-based firm hired by Brett found to be “no longer fit for use.”

The Shadow franchise was terminated in what the PDL called an untimely exit – leaving a void for some but an opportunity for others.

Spiders technical director Al Brown, who has coached locally for 20 years, had been tossing around the idea of having his own team for quite some time, but couldn’t move forward because of the Shadow’s existence.

“It wasn’t a sudden decision,” Brown said. “For years I’ve been thinking of running a team like the Shadow, but they had the franchise so they have this territory. It was never a question of setting up a team in competition because we couldn’t do it.”

So Brown and Spiders head coach Dan Philp, both Spokane residents who met while coaching a youth soccer team together, began to approach the USL with no immediate success because of apparent ongoing talks with the Shadow about returning to the league.

The 25-year-old Philp, who moved over last March hoping to play for the Shadow after an eight year semi-professional career in England, has coached in New York, Australia and a semi-professional U-16 team in England. Abbas Faridnia, a Gonzaga grad who played for the Shadow from 1998-2000, and former Community Colleges of Spokane player Jeff Hohenthal will round out the coaching staff.

After it became clear to the league the Shadow were not coming back, the league contacted Philp to get the ball rolling.

“I began to approach the league and wasn’t getting a response because they were still trying to get the Shadow back,” Brown said. “(The USL) responded to (Philp), we got into negotiations, and now we’ve got the franchise and are moving forward.”

The Spiders are moving forward with their own plans and a strategy that they hope will get more people involved with their beloved sport. Along with a group of various local investors, Brown and Philp aim to engage the soccer community.

“We want to try to have a united Spokane behind the Spiders,” Philp said. “We want to involve as many people as we can so everyone feels like they have a chance to be part of the Spiders.”

Brett, whose company Brett Sports owns the short-season Class A Spokane Indians baseball franchise and the Western Hockey League Chiefs, said he had no interest in restarting the Shadow.

“When we got involved many years ago, it was the idea that Albi was going to be improved and a youth sports complex was to be built,” said Brett, who added he wished the new franchise nothing but luck. “The city was not a willing partner and the league took the franchise away. … For us, it was no option at the time. There was no new surface. (The city) didn’t live up to its promises and the Spiders got the franchise, so it isn’t an option now, either.”

The Spiders will play their home games at Spokane Falls Community College. They are talking with the city about playing a couple of times at the newly resurfaced Albi Stadium. While Brown declined to speculate on what went wrong with the Shadow, he said that city officials have been obliging with him.

“We have talked with the city a little about having some events at Albi,” Brown said. “I think it’s clear that there were some problems with communication on both sides in that situation (with the Shadow). The city has been very communicative and cooperative with us, which is all I can comment on.”

Brown, Philp and Spiders vice president of marketing Fred Bowman agree that the timing of big league soccer’s return to Spokane was vital.

“It’s good, people haven’t forgotten about it,” Philp said. “If it had taken four or five years people might have said, ‘I can’t be bothered with this,’ but it’s only been a year, so we think it might work out for us.”

Bowman added that the mere existence of the team was also imperative.

“Our youth go through the recreation leagues to select and premier leagues up to 18 years old,” Bowman said. “Now they once again have the opportunity to go to the next step. Hopefully, with success we will be able to draw some attention from the MLS and college teams.”

“There has been sort of a lack of attention paid to the resources we have here in Spokane (when it comes to soccer),” Brown said. “It’s no exaggeration when I say that there are players I have seen here over the past 20 years are as good as anyone in the nation.”

Brown, Bowman and Brett mentioned former Gonzaga University star and current MLS standout Brian Ching, who also played for the Shadow, as an example of how important soccer has been to the community.

For Brown, the team’s success will be measured on player development and community involvement.

“Our team is oriented on developing the youth of Spokane and developing entertainment for Spokane,” Brown said. “If we can sustain a competitive team and create a team that gives the people of Spokane entertainment value for their dollar, then we’re a success.”