Financing sought to fix stadium

In anticipation of 47-year-old Avista Stadium becoming unusable within the next several years, Spokane Indians Baseball Club officials are beginning improvement efforts to extend the functionality of the ballpark.

That will take money, though, and as of right now, it is unclear where that money will come from.

A look at improvements at Avista began last year with the creation of a ballpark committee made up of Indians representatives, county representatives, other users of the stadium and fans. A long-term list of necessary developments was put together.

First on the list was a new scoreboard, installed for the 2005 season, and next would be replacing the concrete risers which make up the stadium’s seating area.

“Most of those (risers) are original 1958 concrete,” said Paul Barbeau, the Indians vice president and general manager.

“It’s 50 years old, it’s been exposed to weather, they’ve shifted, they’ve settled and they’ve deteriorated. We’re not at a crisis point right now, but we can look ahead and see what needs to be replaced to have a usable, viable facility.”

There are other potential improvements, but without the new concrete it would be unnecessary to do anything else, because the Indians would have to start exploring other options.

The county assessed the cost of replacing the concrete, a figure that came out to about $5.4 million, according to Marshall Farnell, Spokane County Chief Executive Officer.

“That (figure) kind of confirmed the initial review by the initial architect, and the structural engineer confirmed what needs to be done,” Farnell said. “The No. 1 priority (at Avista) is getting this taken care of.”

During the last state legislative session, legislation was introduced that would fund capital improvements in the five Washington minor-league ballparks in Spokane, Tacoma, Everett, Yakima and Pasco. However, nothing came of it.

Something similar could be brought up at the start of the 2006 legislative session to help fund Avista’s needs.

Other renovations at Avista in the near future would include replacing the offices and concession stands on the site.

“Between the state legislature and the county and the Indians, we’ll try to come up with a package that addresses some of the needs of the stadium,” Barbeau said.

“When you look at how much the repairs are on the projects that are needed here versus what it would cost to do something totally different on a new site, it’s a wise investment I think.”

Taking care of these issues now, Barbeau said, could keep baseball at Avista for another 47 years.

“Other things will come up over the course of time,” he said. “But if we take care of these big-ticket items now, the Spokane community will have a stadium that is usable and in good shape for 40 to 50 years.”