Arena Wins Applause 10,000 People Show Up For Open House At $62.2 Million Facility

The new Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, which started as the vision of a few people more than a decade ago, was viewed for the first time Sunday by the public whose taxes are paying for it.

“It’s lovely. It’s purple - that’s my favorite,” said Monique Kolonko, 37, a recent Spokane transplant from Texas.

“I think it’s great, ” said Rhonda Woodward, a 36-year-old former figure skater and avid Spokane Chiefs hockey fan. “The old one was pretty dilapidated.”

“I think after getting voted down four or five times, they didn’t do too bad,” Clyde Kaffenberger, 52, of Coeur d’Alene, joked as he inspected one of the Arena meeting rooms.

Some 10,000 people visited the $62.2 million building Sunday in its debut open house. The first paid event is a concert Saturday night, followed by a National Hockey League exhibition game next Sunday and the circus Sept. 20-24.

Sunday’s visitors examined seats, stared at the giant video screen, listened to live bands, shot baskets, sat on a Zamboni machine and peered into the private box belonging to Bobby Brett, owner of the Spokane Chiefs.

“Never go in there again, I bet,” said one visitor, hustling out with his wife and two kids.

“What an improvement - they really made the big time here,” one woman said as she left a backstage celebrity dressing room complete with private shower, wardrobe mirror, reclining chair and television set.

“I expected more negative comments,” said Edie Sramek, a volunteer usher for the city-county Public Facilities District, which operates the 12,500-seat building.

“Everybody’s in looking at the Zamboni.”

Raymond Clausen, 65, a Fairfield farmer who said he has been going to Spokane Chiefs hockey games for 40 years, was sitting with his wife in the season-ticket seats assigned to them by the team.

They were analyzing the view and checking out alternatives, debating the pros and cons of each angle.

Both liked the building, although they question its location, which they think is going to create a traffic nightmare.

Other complaints ranged from the pale inside walls to a lack of easy stroller and wheelchair access.

Most comments, however, were complimentary.

After walking through the building, Jean Rucker of Coeur d’Alene said she wants to return for her first-ever hockey game.

“I’ve never seen one before,” she said. “The acoustics at the old place were just horrible.”

First proposed in 1985, the Arena replaces the Coliseum built in 1955 and was on the ballot five times before gaining the necessary approval.

After rejecting property tax increases, voters in the county agreed in 1991 to an increase in the sales tax of a tenth of a penny - 10 cents on a $100 purchase. A 2 percent hike in the hotel-room tax also is earmarked for arena bonds.

“When you spend $62 million, you like to see what you get,” said Jerry Zumwalt, 58, a Spokane Valley resident.

“I’m impressed. The length of time it took to complete this, the workmanship, it all looks good.”

“We just moved here, and this makes us think we did the right thing,” said Kolonko, who moved to Spokane from El Paso, Texas, with her husband.

The most-often asked question of the day - except for requests to see the Chiefs locker room (which were denied) - was about the Green Room, the celebrity lounge which got its name in Hollywood because that’s where performers were paid after the show.

“I think that was my biggest question,” said Jenean Hughes, a volunteer usher for the open house. “If it’s the green room, why isn’t it green?”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s next? A country music concert headlined by John Michael Montgomery will open the Arena on Saturday.