Joe Albi Stadium

“I think that for Spokane, the urban experience is about arts, culture and sports,” Condon said last week as he expounded on the desirability of a new sportsplex and high school stadium to complement the Spokane Arena north of the river. The Arena has been a fixture since 1995 and the nearby sportsplex is nearing the design phase. A 5,000-seat stadium would complete the trifecta. It also has the potential to host outdoor music events. The complex might mean a renaissance north of the river, transforming that part of downtown, just as Albi Stadium transformed northwest Spokane many years ago.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Oct. 4, 2018

Football coaches line up on the hill overlooking Joe Albi Stadium and wait for the first game to end before joining their team on the field Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.

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This is one of the tunnels that football fans use to enter Joe Albi Stadium for games. Photographed Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.

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Joe Albi Stadium is shown Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 during a high school football game, which only draws a few hundred people on most game nights.

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Joe Albi Stadium is shown Thursday, Sept 27, 2018 during the game between Ferris and Shadle Park. The City of Spokane, which owns the stadium, and Spokane Schools, which uses the stadium, must decide whether to tear down, reconfigure or rebuild the venerable stadium, which has only been truly full a handful of times, most notably for singer Elvis Presley and evangelist Billy Graham. It has also hosted college and professional football games, auto racing and many other competitions.

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Joe Albi Stadium is shown Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 during a high school football game, the most common use for the venerable stadium. It is rare that more than a few hundred people attend any given football game. The City of Spokane and the school district need to decide on the future of the aging facility, plans that could include tearing it down, building somewhere else, cutting it down make it a smaller and other ideas.

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Aiseia Lorennij, a lineman for Mt. Spokane High School, looks down on Joe Albi Stadium while waiting for his game to begin Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. The future of the venerable city stadium will be debated, especially if the $495 million school bond is approved by voters. It contains funding to, possibly, build another facility or renovate Joe Albi.

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Joe Albi Stadium, shown Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018, is mostly empty on football game nights because each school can only attract a few hundred fans to the venerable stadium where high school teams have played for decades in Spokane.

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