Torchlight Parade and Shock game are on same night

A scheduling conflict between the Lilac Festival’s annual Armed Forces Torchlight Parade and a Spokane Shock arena football game will close additional streets and could create a traffic nightmare as thousands travel to the popular events on the third Saturday in May.

Parade floats have in the past used the Spokane Arena’s east parking lot as staging grounds for the mid-evening parade across the river and through downtown. But the Spokane Shock’s 5 p.m. game on May 17 means the lot will be filled with football fans.

“The reality is we do have a huge mess on our hands and I think everybody realizes that,” said Adam Nebeker, the Shock’s general manager. “We don’t like it one bit. It’s going to be a huge inconvenience for our fans to get to the game; it’s going to be a huge inconvenience for the people in the parade. It’s going to be a huge inconvenience for anyone just wanting to see the parade.”

Parade organizers met with arena and Spokane Police Department representatives last week to discuss plans, such as additional street closures that will be needed to accommodate about 140 school buses carrying high school marching bands. Those bands usually rely on the parking lot to unload and prepare for the 7:45 p.m. parade.

Floats will move to the streets around the arena this year, blocking routes and on-street parking and creating a logistical headache for football fans, paradegoers and the public officials charged with keeping travel routes safe and organized.

Along with the standard closures that accommodate the parade’s Washington Street route, expect more street closures around Washington and Boone Avenue, said Spokane police Sgt. Jason Hartman, head of special events planning.

Hartman hopes to delay some closures to allow football fans to access the arena. Leaving the arena could be more difficult, he said.

“But we’ll make it work,” he said.

The closures will be heavily advertised, and the Spokane Arena plans to encourage fans to walk downtown after the game to catch the parade.

The military will assist in directing traffic.

“We’re exploring everything we can to make it a win-win,” said Russ Brown, parade chairman. “It’s going to be an inconvenience, I’ll tell you that, (but) I really believe there will be no interference whatsoever.”

In its 70th year, the torchlight parade is the largest Armed Forces Day celebration in the United States and attracts thousands from across the Inland Northwest, British Columbia and beyond.

Parade floats have until April 15 to register. Brown hopes to have street closures finalized a few days after. The parade route – from Washington Street through downtown – is expected to remain the same as in previous years.

The scheduling conflict has been frustrating for both parade organizers and Shock representatives.

“I wish the Shock would have come to our table to try to remedy the situation,” Brown said. “They were shocked that there was a problem.”

Brown said suggestions to reschedule the game were quickly dismissed and that team representatives snubbed last week’s meeting. Nebeker said he did all he could to try to move the game, and that a Shock representative would have attended the meeting had they heard final details.

“I think the only thing that really could have made them happy is if we moved our game. We’ve looked into that,” Nebeker said.

Every year, the Spokane Arena chooses 10 possible game dates. From those, eight are selected by arenafootballleague2. This year, home games were scheduled that coincide with the parade, as well as Hoopfest on June 28

“Ultimately, we’re at their mercy,” Nebeker said.

The Shock considered moving the game to Friday night or switching home games with the Tri-Cities team, but venue conflicts and TV contracts prevented both, he said.

“We’ll continue to try to work toward a solution,” Nebeker said. “We’re probably not going to be able to work any miracles and at the end of the day it’s probably still going to be an inconvenience to everybody.”

Kevin Twohig, general manager of the Spokane Arena, said he isn’t concerned about two high-attendance events on one day.

“Spokane’s grown up to the point where doing multiple events is not out of the question,” Twohig said. “It’s certainly a challenge for everybody, but I think those challenges are very positive.”