Camouflaged by the spiffy facelift at Albi Stadium, a dispute is brewing behind the scenes that could stall or stop all the other plans to turn the area around the football stadium into a premier youth sports complex.
"We want to be there. We think we have some good ideas not only for the stadium, but also for the entire area around it," local sports entrepreneur Bobby Brett said. "We're willing to commit our time, effort and energies into making that the finest youth sports complex in the Northwest, but to do that we need a lease that (gives us) a chance to be successful. We can't even get a meeting."
Frustrated by the inability to get a lease to use Albi for his soccer team, the Shadow, and participate in the planning, Brett has not released the $100,000 Brett Sports Inc. pledged to the makeover of Albi Stadium.
A year ago, as injuries mounted to high school football players, the city decided to move ahead to replace the worn artificial turf on the field used by Greater Spokane League schools. The project, estimated to cost less than $1 million, was to be a joint effort of the city, District 81, Mead and Gonzaga Prep schools.
That's when Brett came in, suggesting the city do more than replace the turf and pledged $100,000 for a 15-year lease. Specifically, he wanted some seats removed and the field raised and widened to accommodate soccer. His reasoning was the facility could get much more use and would be the first step in developing a sports complex.
The idea caught hold and Albi opened this fall with a soft, new turf and wider field to accommodate soccer, a $1.9 million project.
Brett, however, believes he has been brushed off, a view disputed by Mike Kobluk, who is Facilities Director for the city, overseeing Albi, the Opera House and the Convention Center.
"Frankly, at this point, I don't know (where negotiations stand)," Kobluk said. "I do know, that as of last week, Bobby Brett had withdrawn his offer of $100,000."
Brett said his $100,000 is still there, but he is waiting for a lease for his soccer team to use Albi. He said he reached an agreement with Kobluk on Feb. 28 and has a memo dated Feb. 29 confirming the deal. However, it was never presented to the Sports, Entertainment, Arts and Convention Advisory Board (SEACAB), which oversees the facility, or the city Council. SEACAB meets again today and will discuss, among other things, the Albi project and its financing.
"Yes, there was a commitment and that commitment has changed," Kobluk said. "That's correct, (the proposal) was not (presented). Part of the reason why it wasn't was that there were a number of other issues that needed to be discussed yet. There were a couple of legal issues that came up. One was the possibility that the contract as we had outlined it would violate some 1986 tax laws, therefore make the bond no longer tax deductible. So we had to take a look at that. And then Bobby made some additional requests."
Brett's response was, "There was some clarification, they were not deal points."
Kobluk said, "Well, we think there were some changes to the deal."
Both sides still believe a deal can be reached, but not the way things sound at the moment, even though Brett and Kobluk met Monday morning.
"I'm encouraged we got a meeting face-to-face and discussions are continuing," Brett said. "I want to do business there, yeah, that is where I want to play. But again, I want to play there under a partnership. I feel that since Feb. 28 the spirit of that agreement, they have dropped the ball. . . . I have not had meaningful input, they still haven't submitted that proposal and I'm still nowhere.
"For us to do business, you need to get in front of the room with people who have the ability and the capability and the authority to make a decision. And that's my biggest frustration, to get a face-to-face with someone who has those three qualities. We just talk around in circles and circles and circles."
Kobluk said, "I don't think that's true. There have been meetings over the course of time, a variety of meetings. Yes, there was an agreement in February and frankly there were some changes to that agreement that Bobby brought forward at a later date . . . that took us into June, I think. There were other proposals by the city made in August. At this point, I'm not sure where we stand."
Neither is Brett, who was expecting a partnership with the city to improve and develop Albi Stadium similar to his relationship with Spokane County and the Facilities District, which are landlords for his other sports teams, the baseball Spokane Indians and hockey Spokane Chiefs.
"The key is if we're going to do a public-private partnership, you need to be a partner, you have to have significant input and meaningful input in the project," Brett said. "The only thing we had input on is the painting of the lines. Since March, 18 we have had no input in the project, no input in anything. "
