Stadium decision was right

In his Dec. 16, article (“Voters swayed stadium decision”), Jim Allen stated the Spokane Public School Board’s decision to build the stadium was “driven by fear, not opportunity.” To the contrary, the board’s decision demonstrated respect for the voters, who by a strong majority voted to build a new stadium and made it clear they prefer it be located at the Albi site. As Mr. Allen noted, “74 percent of the voters in the northern precincts prefer the Albi location over a downtown location.” The board showed strong leadership recognizing they are elected to represent the entire district including the northside voters.

Mr. Allen also commented, “the board gave up millions of dollars and greater revenue and sports opportunities for youth.” I don’t see it this way; I believe they created increased opportunities by building a new stadium. Having a dedicated stadium for our youth, avoids scheduling conflicts for competing events that would otherwise occur at a single venue, and from an economic development standpoint, having two facilities creates more capacity to continue developing Spokane as a sports tourism destination.

Our community is uniquely positioned to build two new funded sports facilities, let’s capitalize on the opportunity.

Bill Bouten

Spokane