More sand, nets may bring action to park

On a Monday around noon there’s not much going on in Browns Park on the corner of 32nd Avenue and Pines Road in Spokane Valley. That may change if the city follows through on a plan that may add 16 sand volleyball courts to the park.

For now, parks and recreation director Mike Stone plans to have five new courts ready for use by May 1. The new courts would be constructed in a straight east-west line starting where the baseball diamond is and running west toward the parking lot. Last year, the Spokane Valley City Council approved the park master plan and budgeted $176,000 to construct the courts.

With the three existing courts, there will be enough courts to attract tournaments, said Stone.

“There will be nothing like this facility anywhere around here,” Stone said while walking through the park on Monday. “Players will come from Montana and Oregon. They will stay in our hotels and eat at our restaurants and shop at our stores.”

That was sweet music to the ears of the lodging tax committee which met last week and recommended extra funding for the volleyball court construction.

“I was quite frankly shocked that we were even considered for that funding,” Stone said. The lodging tax funding would allow for construction of another two courts.

Though the City Council previously approved the project, members weren’t quite as enthusiastic Tuesday evening when Stone presented the Browns Park sand volleyball project.

Council member Chuck Hafner was concerned Browns Park would turn in to a volleyball park instead of a neighborhood park. Stone reassured him that the playground, picnic shelter and a large open turf area will remain available to those not interested in sand volleyball.

Council member Arne Woodard worried about the long-term economic success of the project.

“What if three or four years from now we are finishing all the courts, but we don’t have the response to them we hoped for?” Woodard asked.

Stone said there are no indications the project won’t be successful.

“To complete the project we need to raise another $1.5 million,” Stone said. “I am hoping this is something I can do within my career – it’s going to take some time.”

The project to build the five new courts has been put out for bid, and received four competitive bids all under the $176,000.

When Mayor Dean Grafos suggested the first round of courts be built on the south side of the park – leaving the baseball diamond untouched for now – Stone reminded the council that such a significant change to the project would mean redesign and a renewed bidding process.

“If council decides to do that we will not make the May deadline,” Stone said. He added that no one has complained to him about the loss of a baseball diamond that’s mostly used for practice.

“If there’s a public outcry out there, I haven’t heard it,” Stone said.

Stone will return to next week’s council meeting with the competitive bids asking for approval so the project can get started.