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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

County looks at using new site for football

If the city doesn’t want ‘em, high school football players might get the chance to call the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center home field.

Spokane County commissioners are exploring the possibility of offering up the fairgrounds’ grandstand area for football should the city of Spokane sell Joe Albi Stadium and leave Mead and Spokane school districts without a place to play.

Commissioner Todd Mielke told his fellow commissioners Tuesday that he’d just begun studying a way to help the high schools secure a football location.

The districts had intended to use Albi until at least 2013, but may be booted out as soon as fall 2006.

Spokane Mayor Jim West wants to sell the stadium, saying the city can’t afford to spend $300,000 to $400,000 annually to operate Albi and make bond payments. However, most Spokane City Council members have said they don’t want to sell Albi.

“I’m glad somebody’s stepping up to figure out what an alternative might be,” said Cal Johnson, director of student services and activities for Mead School District. “If this coming fall is the last time we can play on Albi, we have a crisis situation because the funding to do our own field would take some time.”

Johnson said he’s open to investigating the fairgrounds as a possible football location, as is Mark Anderson, assistant superintendent at Spokane Public Schools.

“Our preferable arrangement is to continue as we have been, leasing a stadium, Joe Albi, as our home field,” Anderson said.

The county recently invested about $6 million in the fairgrounds, building better covered seating and adding new lights, among other things. It has concessions facilities and restrooms, and can seat 5,000.

Plus it would be more centrally located than Albi for schools coming from the Spokane Valley.

The area is big enough for football if five lights are moved about 30 feet, said fairgrounds Director Dolly Hughes.

County CEO Marshall Farnell said Astroturf is available that can be installed and removed on demand.

Commissioner Phil Harris said he’s concerned hosting football will interfere with the fairgrounds’ ability to earn money from other activities. Those events, said Hughes, might include motorcycle and BMX bicycle racing.

If it leased the grandstands area out to the schools, the county would likely do so at cost.

The fairgrounds might be a good solution for the high schools, but it probably wouldn’t work for the Spokane Shadow soccer team, said Dave Pier, of Brett Sports. The Shadow also play at Albi.

Commissioner Mark Richard said he was pleased the county was doing something, “rather than just sitting and watching Joe Albi go down the tube.”