Avista Stadium opens early

The shade had yet to reach the cheap seats. The temperature hovered around 95, and yet it still was better than an afternoon at the office.

The Spokane Indians attracted 3,465 fans to the ballpark Monday afternoon for their yearly “business-persons special,” a 3:30 game scheduled with adults playing hooky in mind.

“I injured my shoulder so I said it’s time to take a break,” said fan Cindy Smith as the grounds crew sprayed down the field at Avista Stadium and painted the baselines below her.

The game was the first this year for Smith, who owns Sensational Sewing in Spokane.

“When it (the schedule) came out and I saw it was a day game, I said, ‘We’re going to go,’ ” she said.

The team has held one or two afternoon games every summer for at least the last 15 years, said Indians senior vice president Otto Klein III.

The crowd is usually a little smaller compared to the turnouts at night and weekend games, Klein said.

“It’s always been a great atmosphere here because we get a little different clientele,” he said.

While the day games are typically aimed at business types looking to seal a deal or skip out on the last couple hours of work, the schedule also works well for a lot of other groups, he said.

“Usually we do the day games because then the parents can come pick up their kids at the stadium” after work, said Gabe “Goober” Piper, who helped bring two rows of day campers from the YMCA.

“They seem to enjoy it,” he said.

By that time, the Indians were well on their way to sealing a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canadians.

Between innings the off-kilter promotions and contests on the field catered to the hard-working professional. At one point, a cell phone was catapulted over the back wall to the cheers of the crowd, and later Spokane Chiefs hockey coach Bill Peters beat the daylights out of an old printer, “Office Space” style.

By the last few innings, the announcer started counting down the top 10 reasons to skip work and watch the game, which were submitted by attendees. Number one: “I’m the boss, I don’t need an excuse.”